The Curse of the Cat
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: AU, psuedo-cross with Fruits Basket. The cat must beat the rat to earn their freedom. But how can someone fight their twin?
1. 001-005

**A/N: **This is a collection of 200 drabbles which read sequentially in a fic style. So instead of chapters which link, these are just scenes that following continuously in the same time frame. Not to say there aren't flashbacks…like 002. But…yeah. This overall structure saves time while writing and I thought it would also be fun to experiment this way.

Well, that and I'd never get all the ideas I want to get done otherwise. And it was also a good opportunity to use the lists of prompt I found on LJ while reading their far wider collection of tb/x fandom. This one is from archerastar's 200 writing prompt challenge 2011. So it's not 2011…but I don't have an LJ account to formally do these competitions either. :)

Reason I'm putting five in one because it'll take forever to upload 200 otherwise. Reason I didn't combine more is because it seems too long and less effective. So five drabbles per chapter, a total of 40 chapters.

Oh, guess what. Koji and Yuki both can't cook. Yuki's the rat in Fruits Basket. And despite Koichi being the main character, no Koichi this chapter. No Tommy either though. They both get introduced later on.

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

**001. Crash**

For weeks Koji had been unable to accept there were some who wanted to be his friend. Cold, almost aloof, he kept them at arm's length like everyone else; they however had shown a persistence that astounded him.

Unsure why, he found himself giving in, and in the company of and a strong-willed blonde hailing from Italy, a fiery rather reckless brunette and a magician extraordinaire in the making, he found his own icy exterior melting onto a pool at his feet.

He knew melting ice was dangerous; hard ice, completely frozen, was dry and friction kept one from slipping upon it. It was true one could get burnt if they stood for too long, but when the surface turned into water and lubricated the solid underneath, it was so easy to slip –

– and fall.

And so he did, losing his composure for a split second, and that was all it took for destiny to flip the tables on him. Takuya had said something; of late, his snipes began to provoke more of a reaction, much to his delight and Koji's own chagrin. He had at that point stood in retaliation, only to slip on JP's bedroom carpet and crash into the nearest person as they stood to stop him.

As luck would have it, that person was the only girl of their group: Zoe.

And the result of their collision was the blonde flat on her back with a grey rat sprawled upon her stomach.

* * *

**002. Dim**

Fuyuno was the Head of their Clan, and in particular the God of the Zodiac twelve. Like his name, he was as frigid and cold as the winter. He showed no compassion in expelling the Cat from their Clan; the twelve Zodiac Members did not even possess the truth of their identity. Just one day, in the black-dropped snow, a small figure being led away.

Someone had inquired to the taller figure. The Head had simply implied she was a foreigner. One who did not belong as a part of the Sohma family. One who did not possess the Sohma's blood in her veins.

That day, around him, people had whispered. Whispered to the cruel fate that awaited that woman who lead the Cat away. Fuyuno ignored that; he was frail even then, but younger and the strength of youth kept him stern and upright.

'Koji,' he had said to him. 'One day, you will meet the Cat again. He will come to you, full of anger and bitterness and the tang of revenge. But you are closest to God. You are the one who reigns victorious over the Cat.'

That was, perhaps, the nicest thing he had ever said to him. Other than that, it was the love a God gave to his closest underling.

'…because no-body else will love you...'

And he would lift the small rat up in his hand to a dizzying height for so small a creature, but with little regard thereof.

'…if they know _this_.'

And the lights in the sky would quickly dim as each repetition bit a little more of his heart away.

* * *

**003. Futile**

Zoe was speechless, gaping at the rat upon her stomach and the clothes Koji had just worn. JP, who had just come in with the drinks, almost dropped them in astonishment; as it was, one slipped and soaked Takuya's shoulder.

The younger of the two brunettes jumped back with a yelp as the cold liquid touched his skin. His eyes though were focused on the unbelievable sight.

And Koji? Koji stood perfectly still, knowing it was utterly futile at that stage to hide the truth. Or deny it.

* * *

**004. Erratic**

If Koji thought his sudden transformation had shocked the others in the room to the core, he had severely underestimated them. Or perhaps it was simply the fact that _their_ behaviour was so unlike what he had expected that he wondered for a moment if they weren't somehow related to the Sohmas.

Which they weren't. Unlike him; his surname was different only because the relation came from his grandmother's side. His father's mother. It was surprising really, that with as little blood as they had of the Sohma clan, he'd wound up as one cursed with the Zodiac.

The fact of the matter was that a cursed person weren't tickled upon their true face being revealed. And Zoe was tickling him, finger lightly dancing upon his abdomen. And Takuya had finally muttered cool and was now holding his clothes.

Probably a good thing too as he transformed back right at that moment. Luckily JP too had been standing, and managed to cover Zoe's mouth to muffle her shriek as her own hands went to cover the more important sense: her eyes.

But even before the cloth of his shirt obscured his sight, he saw the shine in chocolate eyes, the tender curiosity in lighter brown, and the tickled-pink expression on Zoe's red face – albeit mixed with her embarrassment.

And he quickly slipped into the remainder of his clothes, wondering if it were really possible. That such people really existed, who could not look upon him with even the faintest of disgust.

* * *

**005. Loved**

'That's amazing!'

Koji stared at the enthusiastic brunet. 'What part of "curse" do you not understand Takuya?' he responded, somewhat snappishly.

'Like…everything,' the other responded cheerfully. 'Considering you kept it this big secret. What did you think though; we'd hate you or something?' He blinked at Koji's expression, before scratching a mat into the back of his head. 'I guess you did think that. But…' He threw a pumped fist into the air. 'Whoever thinks so is a first class jerk.'

'You certainly have a way with words,' Zoe muttered under her breath. 'But seriously, why…umm…and without…' She went a little red again.

There was nothing to be done but to explain, at least, the barest outline of the Zodiac curse.

'So you transform into a rat when a girl hugs you.' JP nodded slowly. 'That would make dating rather difficult.'

'Glad to see you keeping things in perspective,' Koji responded, somewhat dryly but still caught in a thrall of awe. Somehow, all three had taken it relatively in stride. Albeit Zoe had panicked a tad, but it was more likely the effect of him appearing before her naked than anything else. But that was, just like their transformation, when hugged by a person of the opposite gender or when their bodies were under a great deal of stress, unpredictable.

'And how am I supposed to give you a hug for your birthday!' Zoe cried.

Yes, that really put things into perspective. He couldn't help but smile a little; these people, people who he could now call his friends. People who really loved him, and not in the word but its meaning.

'Oh my God!' Takuya cried suddenly. 'You're smiling.'

And suddenly, he had three faces in rather close proximity to deal with.


	2. 006-010

**A/N: **Still no Koichi. I debated using him for prompts 009 and 010, but they flowed in well from Koji's one in 008 so I let Koji have them. So I suppose that means Koichi and Tommy finally show up in 011.

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

**006. Soft**

For Koji, it was new. And it was a soft, tender feeling, having friends who really didn't seem to think any different of him after his secret erupted out of the bag. Perhaps box would have been a more accurate descriptor: Pandora's box, releasing one thing and then a horde of fluttering bats afterwards until only the little butterfly of hope remains, crushed at the bottom of the box.

But for the time, such dark thoughts remained far from his mind. The universal truth that all good things came to an end.

But before that was the rise. And for a time, he remained intoxicated with that softness, that tenderness, of friendship and acceptance.

And when he looked at his reflection in the mirror, he found a light that hadn't been there before.

* * *

**007. Hold**

Of course, Fuyuno found out about his slip. And Koji knew as soon as he read the summons, redirected to him by a simple text message from his father. And to reject the summoning, or ignore it, was inconceivable.

It was the bond the Zodiac members shared with their Head: their God. Something unbreakable, unretractable. Something that caused each of them to collapse into tears in turn when they first prostrated before him, led by a parent with reverence or clinical detachment. In his case, his father, it was the letter.

His mother, he did not remember. Her name was never spoken on Sohma property. There were no photos to be seen, no stories to be heard. The one time he'd made the mistake of asking Fuyuno, he'd been punished. Locked without food nor drink nor sunlight till reason had fled from him. And then he'd lain in a sterile white bed recovering, and saw the cold blue eyes, framed with hair an icy white, staring at him as befitting of their owner's name, and he knew that question would never escape his mouth again.

That stare permeated his life; as the rat, every waking moment of his childhood was spent in that company, and while as he grew and began attending school that changed – eventually leading to him living with his father again, that hold on his life remained. How easily borders were grafted: defined. How firmly the memories of punishment engraved themselves with the lingering taste of death and decay: the Cat's scent, which he'd only sensed once in his youth while standing in Fuyuno's shadow.

And now, that stare fixated him . …not even a hint of the future to come.

And he sat: silently, knees folded beneath him as gravity, the weight of the God, held him in place.

* * *

**008. Shackles**

'You were careless.'

The difference between them, Fuyuno Sohma and Koji Minamoto, was years but not many of them. It was difficult to see any semblance of the closeness in age when the elder of the two looked more the part of an adult than a child, and the look of adolescent rebellion only enforced the distance that pushed them apart.

There was no, however, abandoning such a situation. It was true; he _had_ been careless, and whatever came out of that was a bind like any other consequence. To lose the people that had accepted him while watching for afar, or continuing on as they were – the least probable occurrence by far – and carrying the burdens of a slow decay. A loosened chain in a sense, but not unbound. That was impossible.

'You were wrong.'

The cold eyes bit into him. 'About what?' the Head asked, tone unchanging.

Koji matched it, even if the iciness could not be matched, even by him: the "Blizzard" Prince. 'They still accept me.' He kept his voice level, controlled. 'They're my friends.'

'Really?' Still the same voice, the same pitch. Skin dropped over the eyes; the lashes met, intertwining themselves in a temporary closure. 'Then they can retain their memories for now, and you may continue to see them.'

As slim as the possibility was, the Rat could not help but be surprised. The next words however explained it all.

'You will learn…no façade lasts forever.'

* * *

**009. Broken**

There were times Koji hated Fuyuno. He had been given to the other at three years old, the way all those born under the Rat were, but the young Head of the family had not been interested in a playmate.

'Can you play chess?' he had asked, once they were left alone for the first time.

He couldn't. Not then. So the other taught him, by defeating him over and over again. And many of their other activities progressed in a similar manner. It was a hierarchy, a bond, that couldn't be broken. He grew, but the other remained as far away and aloof as he always was, and there was never anything that dragged him closer. Like the sun, worshipped by some but burning all that came to close.

Yes. Fuyuno may be the winter, but it was summer's scorching heat more so than a bitter cold that prevented one from getting too close to the God. And as he grew in the small alcove of shadow left for him, he found himself adapting those barest parts. Because of that, it wasn't long before he was given the title of the Blizzard Prince once entering elementary school. And to him, it was perfectly fine; he didn't need them any more than he needed the other members of the Sohma family, turning their noses up at him.

But that always brought about the question as to whether or not he needed Fuyuno. Truthfully, he did because he could not imagine how things would be without that barest tint of human contact, that firm cold hand at his back pushing him through life. How things would be with no definition, no directional pull. But it left him bound, restricted. He wondered sometimes – a lot of times really – what it would be like if he let himself connect with others. Play around with them, running and tumbling and bouncing around. But then they'd fall, skin their knee or such, and cry tears of juvenile pain and he would leave the idea because such things only brought pain in the end. More pain, as he watched a girl with a ugly scar laughed at and shoved about and then scorned and left alone, crying tears of bitter anger and blood. As he watched a dog with a limp set upon by other, larger ones of the kind. As he watched a single tall tree bend and break, leaving a severed trunk that matched all the smaller ones in height.

In between, he'd hate the coldness, the unnconnectability that set him apart from the thing closest.

But now that he'd found people who stubbornly persisted, who'd managed to persevere and befriend him, then persevere again after seeing a face, and he hated that coldness for a different reason. For the Zodiac curse was beyond that of transformation, beyond that of family politics. He was older now, he understood more, and his heart had warmed enough to feel a certain pricking to the cold. Like Eve's garden and the forbidden fruit, the taste wasn't something he could forget.

His family, the curse, Fuyuno – even if he had given his permission – stood between that. For his permissiveness was as cruel as to force one to abstain; to bow to emotion and lose reason until it consumed a person utterly. To make a pleasurable thing so horrible; was it worth that perhaps inevitable pain?

He bowed his head and dragged his feet. It was Eden all over again, he had to admit. For he didn't think he was capable of resisting that tide.

But…maybe one day, that bond, that curse…would be broken.

* * *

**010. Precious**

Koji came home to find his father absent again. It was nothing new; on the contrary it was to be expected. As far as the man went, he was only the boy's guardian on paper and his material provider. The house in that essence felt always cold, and that day was no different –

– except the phone ringing insistently in the silence.

He picked up the receiver, and couldn't help but smile…even if the retort to Takuya's teasing words suggested nothing of the sort. Banter was exchanged, a date set; nothing revealed the meeting he had, nor the possible costs that could follow. Light, unassuming, but somehow so perfectly harmonised with his heart.

'Hey! Are you listening to me Koji?!'

That was something precious, to be treasured forever in his heart.

'-and Zoe wants us to go to the photo booth –'

'That's a good idea.'

' – and…what?! Don't tell me I'm outnumbered.' A bit of grumbling followed. 'Be prepared for the worst picture in history.'

That was okay, as long as it captured their time together, no matter how long and short he wound up being…

'Hey, what are you angsting about over there?'

…because all the time in the world would be enough for one to become bored of happiness, and he could not waste what he had.


	3. 011-015

**A/N: ** Koichi is the consequence of my pharmacology lectures. The bit that involves his sickly…stuff anyway. And just in case any of you freak out, glucocorticoids are used in the long term treatment of severe/unmanageable asthma and the medications nowadays generally have less (and less severe) side-effects. If you're wondering why I said that, it's what causes the side-effect I mentioned in the drabble 011.

* * *

**_The Curse of the Cat_**

* * *

**011. Odds and Ends**

To fit somewhere was always a difficult thing, and for Koichi it was especially difficult when even the skin he wore rejected him. His family, his mother and hers: his grandmother, were the only ones to smile about it, but even there was sadness and an inconvenience for them. For it broke easily: the slightest stretch, the faintest scratch…and easily infected too. When he was younger the pain of it would be unbearable, but it got easier with time. He put up with it. He accepted it. He got used to it.

It wasn't like he could change that; it was a far better alternative to being unable to breathe. That terrifying tightening of his chest. The sensation of being crushed in all directions, floundering without aim, without light…even if that light did sting, and burn.

For that relief, he could pay the price. Even if people stayed away from him. Even if it hurt. Because there was very little worse than being crushed in an ocean where no-one could see…or a black metal box in the end.

* * *

**012. Tea**

'Koji,' Takuya complained. 'You never come over to any of our homes, even when we invite you.'

'What are you talking about?' the other replied. 'I've been to JP's.'

'For an assignment.' The brunet rolled his eyes. ''cause Zoe and I were going there anyway and it made the most sense to meet up. But that's no reason not to hang out with us outside of school. You don't even come to the arcade with me and my brother.'

'Neither do JP and Zoe.'

'Well, they like different sorts of games.' He shrugged. 'I know you'd like the fighting ones though. And then we could go to that tea-shop down the street. Their strawberry daifuku is the best.'

Koji stared at him with a slight frown.

'Don't you like strawberry daifuku?' Takuya asked. 'They have other things as well, like apple pie – did I say something?'

'I'll bet their apple pie is nowhere near as good as my mother's,' the Rat snapped, ignoring the fact he could barely remember its taste. Perhaps it was the childish notion that a mother was the best cook in the world. Maybe because it was one of the few things he had left of her. Maybe it was because Fuyuno had ultimately put a stop to him wanting to know more, to know _why_…and he had been forced to content himself with what he had. Those singular memories that he had almost lost with everything else. That he had locked away to keep safe and to forget…

So how had a single mention of apple pie brought them back to the surface?

Takuya grinned at that. 'I'll take you up on that bet then, so long as you come to the arcade with me and Shinya beforehand. I'll even treat you. Games and tea: how does that sound? And you can stay for dinner too. Mum's making grill.'

How easily the brunet had roped him in.

'I can pay for myself,' was all he said.

'Yeah, but this is what friends do,' the other pointed out, waving his wallet…where a few yen notes fell out. 'Uhh…'

'You don't have enough, do you?'

'Umm…'

Koji shook his head, hiding the smile that threatened to crawl out. 'I've got enough for all of us.'

'Hang on!' Takuya grabbed his allowance. 'I do have enough for the pie, you know!'

'You just said that's what friends do,' Koji returned.

'So you think of me as your friend!'

The jubilance almost made Koji reconsider his statement. _Almost_.

* * *

**013. Twisted**

If hurting another person was wrong, then every person who ever stepped foot in the world was a sinner. The world was arranged in a hierarchy; within his own family the Cat was looked down upon by the others of the Zodiac, and those that new about them. Even those that didn't know did the same; they saw him standing in the snow before the Main House each New Years, frail and worn. Sometimes, they saw him as a monster of a different sort, with easy infections spreading through his skin like a wildfire no matter how many preventative measures he took. But even the Cat was better than an outsider; as twisted as that relationship was, at least he was still considered to be a part of the Sohma family. Even if no-one considered it a true part, less so since he did not bear the name. If he had, at least those ignorant of their situation would have considered him no different than any other Sohma.

His mother on the other hand…no-one considered her a part of the Sohma family at all, even though she had married one. And as a single mother, the rest of society looked down upon the two of them as well.

It seemed like their destiny: a world in which they did not belong. But that did not make it right. That did not make it acceptable. He knew his mother was sad, but for whatever reason – he feared it to be him – she had accepted that.

'_You_ don't need to, though,' she always said to him. 'Unless…you can satisfy yourself with defeating _him_?'

She said it in a way that suggested she knew he could not do such a thing, that he could not meet the threshold the Head of the Sohma family had put upon him.

'Would you go away? If you had the chance?'

He hadn't answered that question immediately. 'Why didn't you Mum?' he asked instead. He knew the Sohma's owned quite a bit of the area they were in; his mother worked at one of the few places that didn't come under that family's jurisdiction and their apartment was another such place. But reminders of his father's, her husband's, family were so firmly engraved into their lives that the only way to avoid it would be to move far from Tokyo.

She had smiled sadly at him in reply. 'There are things…' she said softly. '…one cannot just abandon. I still love your father.'

In the end, he found it was the same for him. With all rights he should hate the brother he didn't know, who could live peacefully with a family that rejected _him_…and more than peacefully as he was the exalted Rat, the one closest to God.

It was a situation twisted and tangled to a barely recognisable state.

* * *

**014. Echo**

Being ignored was crueller than being struck, but it was difficult to see that in the moment of sharp pain. It was like the different of being stabbed clean through and pressed against a burning slab of steel; at the time the sword goes through the heart it is difficult to think of anything more painful, but the ancient Chinese used a pillar of steel as an execution method for a very good reason. Wrapped around that burning slab until they fell upon molten coals…and to keep holding on, if only because they needed to cling to life just a little longer, was an agony few really understood.

But direct wounds always hurt more when they were fresh, and watching those wounds being inflicted was like feeling an echo in one's own memory, like lying there and letting himself be beaten so another, the boar's, agony settled into satisfaction.

Later, covered in bruises and broken skin, he had cried hot tears of pain and bitterness, wailing at the unfairness of it all. But the Head had come, and said that was his place. His _duty_, to be crushed beneath the weight of the other Zodiacs like a sacrificial doll. But his mother had been angry when she had heard; his body and soul was _his_ responsibility, she had snapped, and it was not for anyone else to decide what he was to do with it. Eventually, she had taken him away, separating herself from the Sohma clan…but as one cursed by the Cat, he could never be free of them.

Or of the life in the compound, and the few days a year he had to spend there, standing in the frozen snow while the other Zodiac members enjoyed the banquet. He had only ever caught the Head watching him, his expression as the snow that fell about them.

He felt the cool juzu beads around his wrist, then pushed the door open and interrupted the three boys within. The smallest of them uncurled and looked at him with two puffy green eyes; the older two looked a tad scared before the tallest recovered.

'Kimura?' he asked, as if testing the waters with the name. 'As you can see, we're in the middle of something here, so if you don't mind –'

The apparent side-kicked snickered. 'Yeah, wouldn't want you spreading your _germs_ on our business.'

The two laughed; the younger boy started at the statement and trembled, but made no other move.

'Now, let's play –' The tallest boy stepped forward again, only to be stopped as Koichi stepped further into the room.

'What is he to you?' He realised only later he had used the word 'what' and not 'who' as his mother had taught him.

'What's it to _you_?' the other returned. 'But if you must know, he makes a good punching bad.' He knelt down, taking the dirtied chin in his hands. 'And he never tells, sweet kid.'

'Uhh…' The second bully looked a tad uncomfortable. '_He_ might.'

'Kimura? _Please_, he's practically a ghost student.'

Koichi said nothing to that.

'Now that I think about it, someone like that is a far better punching bag –' The tall boy swung at the other at those words, easily catching him on the cheek. The other's head turned slightly at the impact but that was all.

The victim was, unnoticed to the other three, fidgeting. 'That's mean,' he burst out finally, quietening again when the other two turned to glare at him. 'Stop it.'

'Giving us a lecture?' the smaller of the pair smirked, stepping forward. 'You're just a spineless –'

The other grabbed his arm.

'What?'

'I hear a teacher coming.'

And indeed, all four could hear footsteps.

The two bullies quickly departed down one corridor; Koichi touched the warmness of his cheek and went down the other. The last boy looked anxiously between the three directions before scurrying off after his unorthodox savoir, heart still quaking somewhere the level of his sneakers.

* * *

**015. Soothe**

The cold water felt like the snow on his cheek; it was going to bruise at the very least, but his skin had cracked slightly as well so the paper towel he was using as a compact quickly became blotted with red.

He heard the bathroom door open and close behind him.

'I don't get it,' the miserable sniff greeted him. 'Why do people pick on other people?'

'That's just the way the world works,' the other replied monotonously, replacing the paper towel in his hand with a freshly damped one. 'The hierarchy in which one person's pain travels to another person.'

'It's not _fair_ though!'

No…no it wasn't. He hadn't chosen to be the Cat after all. He hadn't chosen to cause so much trouble for his mother…but it couldn't be helped. And she would worry about him again once she saw his cheek…

'Why didn't you defend yourself?' the boy asked. 'Why did you let them hit you?'

Blue eyes lowered slightly. 'Why didn't you?' he returned, dodging the question instead of answering it.

The green eyed boy lowered his gaze. 'I – I'm a weakling,' he answered. 'And they're bigger, and older – but you're their age, aren't you?'

More like in between the two age groups, for while he did share a class with the elder it was only because the tall boy had been held back a year and not progressed to junior high school.

'But you didn't want to fight back, did you?' Puffy green eyes blinked at him. 'You didn't care if they hit you.' He twisted his roughed-up shirt with nervous hands. 'Would your parents care?'

'Mum does…but she's the only one.' It was the simple truth; there was no need to hide such a thing. In truth, his grandmother would care as well...if she ever found out. But she was stubborn enough to take his father to court and that would wind up being a regional disaster and so his mother avoided informing her about their messed up family situation.

'I care.' The boy fidgeted some more. ''cause it was my fault. 'cause people always pick on me.' He stood on his tiptoes, trying to peer at the other's reflection. 'Did he hit you hard?'

'No,' Koichi sighed. 'My skin's just…fragile.'

'Doesn't that hurt more then?'

'No. I'm used to it.'

'But that's not – that's not _fair_.'

The kid was unbelievably endearing. If rather naïve. It was surprising the other had stuck around as longs he had, particularly as he had made no move to clean himself up. It surprised him even more when the other had shown indignation on his behalf.

'That's life.'

'Some God's not fair then.'

He was reminded of Fuyuno at that stage, and then for some reason, he started laughing. One hand shot out to support him on the sink; the Head of the Sohma family was no laughing matter but for some reason the peals of laughter escaped without restraint.

'Yutaka says laughter's good medicine.' The boy sounded much happier. 'I'm Tommy. Tommy Himi.' He bowed. 'Thank you for your help.'

Koichi turned, an odd expression on his face. 'Koichi Kimura,' he said finally, when the other beamed at him.

Luckily, the bell went at that moment and both of them hurriedly tidied up and fled to their respective classrooms, Tommy at least wondering what tale he would have to tell the teacher to avoid trouble.

Or maybe…he should tell the truth. Maybe he _could_; he'd managed to speak up after all, and gotten no extra pains for it like he'd thought he would. Even if it was luck that had saved him. Even if he had come very close to not speaking up at all.

But it had seemed somehow easier to speak in the defense of someone else.


	4. 016-020

**A/N: ** Don't worry. Katsuharu and Teppei will redeem themselves as usual. Teruo will also show up at a later stage…but I'm not too sure about Chiaki right now. I've used Katsuharu's and Teppei's surnames from Yami no Tenshi, Hikari no Akuma, ie. Kobayashi and Yamaguchi respectively.

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

* * *

**016. Fight**

The arcade was nothing like Koji had imagined it. Somehow he'd expected more physical contact – something he'd been understandably apprehensive by. But while there were a lot of small crowds, they didn't really mingle with each other, instead collecting around a pair of boys racing or a girl shooting her way into the record books. That left several other games almost completely empty, and Takuya instantly dragged him over to one as Shinya went over to another where only a single boy, roughly the same age, was gunning down a space-ship with a black eye.

'Why do you have a black eye?' Shinya asked immediately, plopping down beside him and taking the other set of controls.

The other mumbled something.

Takuya frowned and abandoned the joystick he had been making for, going over to his brother and the other boy instead. Koji, at a bit of a loss but nonetheless refusing to admit it, followed.

'What happened Tommy?' He sounded serious; a first in Koji's knowledge.

The swollen eyes lifted, the look in them embarrassed and rather nervous. Luckily, he had the foresight to press pause before his little spaceship was blasted off the screen. 'I…got into a fight.'

'You mean some guys were kicking you around again.' Takuya sighed.

Shinya scowled. 'You should come to me,' he insisted. 'I'd beat them up for you.'

'And get into trouble,' the other two brunets said as one. 'Not to mention you're probably no match for them both,' Takuya added, much to his brother's chagrin.

'It's okay,' Tommy interrupted before the Kanbara brothers escalated into an argument. 'Someone helped.'

'Oh? Who?' Even Koji was interested; there weren't many people like Takuya (and apparently Shinya Kanbara _was_ one of those people), and he could imagine very few others stepping in to stop a bullying situation at the risk of being inconvenienced or hurt themselves.

'I think he's in your class.' Tommy twisted in his seat. 'Koichi Kimura?'

They both shook their heads. 'Maybe Zoe's,' Takuya suggested.

JP was obviously not an option, having moved on to junior high the previous year and before Koji had transferred to the school himself. He only knew the other through Takuya and Zoe; they had been and still were close, even with an entire academic year between them.

'Katsuharu hit him though,' Tommy admitted, continuing with his explanation. 'Then I told him to stop, and then everyone disappeared because a teacher was coming.'

There was a pause, before Takuya clapped him on the shoulder. 'Good for you,' he complimented. 'Nice to hear you say _something_ to them.'

Tommy still looked nervous though. 'But they'll make me pay for it later.'

Takuya looked at Koji. He gave an expressionless look. The brunet turned back and shrugged. 'You don't know that,' he pointed out. 'Most bullies are just cowards.'

'But fighting back's just as bad,' Tommy cried, half-standing before losing his nerve and seizing the joystick tightly with both hands.

Takuya looked a little uncomfortable at that. 'Oh, look. The racing cars are free.'

And he grabbed Koji's elbow and steered him away, leaving the pair of nine year olds to blow up space aliens together.

* * *

**017. Naked**

As Koichi had expected, his mother had been worried about the bruised cheek he carried home with him, fretting needlessly for a good ten or fifteen minutes before allowing him to go off with a nicely soaked dish-towel to reduce the swelling some more.

'After all,' she said. 'A _paper_ towel can only do so much.'

But she took pity on the other after a little while and let him surrender the compass when the large lump had faded into something manageable. After all, no cat liked being wet, even if the cold water was a welcomed relief. Comfort for discomfort; it was another thing assessed by the cost to benefit ration like his medication. Only, with that, there was no clear-cut answer as wetness had to be tolerated, even if it did leave him feeling lethargic and his math homework taking twice as long to complete.

But things were still a little tense, even if math homework provided a good distraction…if only because he needed to give it his full attention and that was difficult to do when part of his brain was complaining about the moist towel pressed against his cheek.

All things considered, he was lucky the skin broke so easily; it would only be red by the following day, instead of purple or black as most others would have sprouted.

But that didn't stop the atmosphere from sharpening, even as he finally finished his worksheet and began on something easier, his mother turning the gas stove off at the same time.

'Koichi,' she said finally, sounding both disappointed and concerned, before sighing. She knew her words were useless in such situations. 'Are you feeling okay?' she asked instead. 'Would you like to go to bed early tonight?'

Koichi shook his head. 'I'm fine,' he said quietly.

His mother looked at him, before suddenly coming over and embracing him, tightening her grip when she felt the human form morph into the black feline. The abandoned uniform slipped off the chair and onto the floor; paws scrambled uselessly for them.

'Forget the clothes,' Tomoko scolded her son. 'I've told you this before; I don't care if you're the Cat of the Zodiac or not. You're _my_ son, and I don't want to see you unnecessarily hurt.'

Fur gently nuzzled her cheek, but the touch was still tentative, still hesitant…and it hurt her more than a vicious wild monster ever could.

_I wish I could have protected you…or made you forget…_

But she had been able to do none of them, and it appeared she was even too late taking him away from that life, for it had marked him too deeply, enough to make him completely apathetic to his own wellbeing. All she could really do was warm him in her embrace and nurse him back to health when he fell…if even that.

But nothing and no one was going to deny him her embrace.

* * *

**018. Push**

They heard a crash around the next bend of hallway, and even though both were late (thanks to Takuya attempting to shoot another goal before the bell), they stopped to investigate.

Or rather, Takuya stopped as anything that sparked his curiosity was, for him, more fascinating than sitting through a forty minute lecture on magnet properties. Koji followed simply because the obstruction was blocking their way. Crashes were common enough when hundreds of students collected in a confined area.

It was not however common to find an asthma inhaler skidding along the floor, and thus Koji was watching it hit the opposing wall as he rounded the corner…and crashed into Takuya who had stopped walking, jaw open.

The Rat was perfectly prepared to none-too-politely shove the brunet out of the way when another crash, accompanied by a started yell, pierced the air.

'Pinch me,' Takuya muttered, before exclaiming when Koji did just that. 'I didn't mean _literally_.'

'You shouldn't have said it then,' Koji hissed back, taking in the scene before him. The only one standing – seemed a tad younger than the pair of them – was backing away, wide-eyed with jaw fly-catching. A second (or third if on included the spectator) brunet was half slumped against the wall, evidently shoved with quite a bit of strength as he was wincing and rubbing his head amidst the shocked expression he sprouted.

The third, with hair black but appearing somewhat bluish under the microscope light, was on his knees, clutching his chest with one hand as he gasped for breath, curtain of short-cropped hair concealing his face as his other fumbled forward. When nothing came under hand, he crawled – or dragged was perhaps a more accurate term – himself forward until his hand enclosed around the inhaler and the cool plastic was touching his lips.

The inhaler cluttered to the floor again when the Vice Principal's voice suddenly boomed out.

'Just what is going on here?'

Takuya jumped. Koji just managed not to. Katsuharu, the brunet who had hit his head and who also happened to be a classmate of theirs, also managed not to but his side-kick had no such restraint.

The fifth, also unfamiliar, was just slumped bonelessly against the wall, attempting to even out his breathing. The Vice Principal's gaze immediately focused on him.

'Minamoto, take Kimura to the infirmary.'

Takuya made to move as well, but an arm swung out to hold him back.

'Hold on Mr Kanbara.'

'But I had nothing to do with this,' Takuya protested.

'Kimura's the one who shoved me,' Katsuharu muttered at the same moment, sounding rather sour.

'You knocked his inhaler out of his hand when he was having an asthma attack!' Takuya yelled back at him.

'Kanbara, Kobayashi,' the Vice Principal barked before a second fight – if the first could be called a fight – broke out. He amended when catching sight of the third. 'Yamaguchi. My office, now.'

* * *

**019. Alive**

When the inhaler was struck from his hands and fell out of sight, Koichi's first instinct was to shove all opposition away and find it. The tightness in his chest had snuck upon him with little warning (as they sometimes did), and when it did it obliterated every other thought and instinct from his mind. Humanity became drowned in the animal; survival rose to the forefront. He scrambled – shaking, panting, combing the darkness – till his hands closed around the cool plastic and he brought it up to his lips in a well practised motion.

Three puffs later, he slumped against the wall, feeling the vapour opening up his cramped airways and letting air in. A tremor quickly set in; his head spun in dizziness, but that did not stop the thirst for air. Light slipped back in, along with snatches of voices, sounds – someone carrying him –

None of that fully registered, save the air passing through the lungs and the pain in his now expanded chest, telling him that, for the time being, he was alive.

As he lay a little later in a small cot in the infirmary, he realised it hadn't been a particularly _bad_ asthma attack; his post-attack tablets and a nap had him feeling better and a trip to the hospital was mercifully not needed. Sadly, his mind didn't quite agree; it had been a while since his last asthma attack since the glucocorticoids were a preventative measure to such events. Of course, they weren't perfect, but he had been rather young when he had been hospitalised for a few weeks because of a series of detrimental attacks.

But when one's chest tightened and that precious air was stolen, the mind found it very difficult to differentiate between a mild asthma attack and a life-threatening one. After all, even a low-grade attack could kill in the time it took for the puffer to take effect…if it did…

But it had worked for him, and he was grateful for it. At that moment, he was still seeing things in black and white, and so it was very easy for him to think he was glad to be alive.

* * *

**020. New**

Koji usually avoided people; Takuya had been the first exception, and things had rolled downhill from there, leaving him helping someone he didn't even know to the infirmary and then returning to class without a note explaining his absence.

The teacher looked both surprised and disapproving; avoiding company meant he was rather punctual so it was unusual to find himself late for anything. Unfortunately, that inexperience also meant he had not thought to ask the nurse for a slip.

He was just lucky Takuya showed up with a note excusing the both of them for their lateness, elsewise he would have wound up with a detention on his record. Another first.

Of course, that one would have had to go through his father as all detention forms needed to be signed. That left him thinking how his father would have reacted to the anomaly…but reconsidered. He had fought hard enough to be allowed to go to an ordinary "school", even as he thought the effort would be wasted and nothing accomplished thereof. Now that knew he was wrong though, he was not willing to give up that opportunity.

And it wasn't like he had transformed at school. Yet.


	5. 021-025

**A/N: **Sorry, I got caught up in a work issue and forgot to upload yesterday. although since I'm GMT+11, it might still be Friday for most of you :)

Enjoy.

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

* * *

**021. Born**

Koichi awoke feeling drained; his chest still ached, but his body had warmed under the blankets and quelled the shivers raking his body. The comfort far outweighed the dull ache though; it was another thing associated with the form of the Cat, but at least that wasn't wholly disadvantageous. After all, cats craved warmth, and sunlight…and the sun was streaming in through the open curtains to add to that effect.

Too comfortable to want to leave really; he wanted his mind to lull away into shadow waves and settle back into sleep.

A disadvantage to that attraction to warmth was the ease at which his skin burnt without his notice, leaving open new doorways to infections. Sunburn was a given even with long sleeves and a cap covering his face in the summer; it was unavoidable even if he did manage to stay indoors the entire season. Somehow just having the winders open on an especially hot day resulted in leaving burns along his exposed (and sometimes unexposed) skin…typically down his face and neck and arms. Soaking them with cold water was entirely unpleasable, and he would gladly put up with the burns and the comfort of dry warmth if his skin wouldn't sting in the dry air afterwards…or swell with fluid and tinge green. Even between their best efforts, his skin managed to attract infections throughout the summer like mosquitoes; he was luckier in winter, but the months left him feeling drained and despondent. And it didn't help matters that New Year's fell within that time.

But there was nothing to be done but tolerate it all, because he could not control his circumstances for birth any more than his mother – parent_s_ – could. All he could do was accomplish something, find a purpose in something, within his life.

After all, nothing lasted forever. And that warm fuzzy feeling drained away, leaving his body even more exhausted but his mind somewhat more alert to the nurse's questions and his mother's worry.

And he would have to get up soon in any case, if only because his mother was taking him home.

* * *

**022. Murmur**

There was something comforting about having nonsensical phrases murmured in one's ear in a half-conscious state. It was reminiscent of one's childhood, before they learnt to comprehend speech and all words were the same. Something soothing about hearing to g one's mother sing lullabies in a soft year while stroking the few strands of hair that clung to a still strengthening skull.

Even eleven years later, feeling those soft fingers through a firmer head of hair and whispers his mind failed to understand – maybe his mother was speaking too quietly, or maybe she was recalling himself as a baby being gently coaxed to sleep. Either way, it was warm and gentle and lulling all the same, just enough to sleep without thinking of anything else.

* * *

**023. Devious**

As the younger brother, Shinya got very few opportunities to come up on top of his brother, and he was not one to pass up the opportunity when it showed.

As such, it was with great pride and little regret that he snuck up to the taller form. 'Mum's going to be ma-ad,' he sung loudly, causing his brother to whip around and scowl and several stragglers to give them curious looks.

'Be quiet Shinya,' Takuya muttered, turning again.

'But you goy sent to the principal's office _again_.'

'I didn't do anything,' the other grumbled. 'But did anyone listen to me? Not to mention Kobayashi used it as an excellent opportunity to get me into trouble again.'

'What did happen?' Shinya asked, having enough experience with his elder brother to know that "didn't do anything" had a vast array of meaning.

'Not sure.' Takuya shrugged. 'We turned up in time to see him knock an asthma inhaler out of somebody's hand…I think the Vice-Principal said his name was Kimura? But he was having an asthma attack by the looks of things –' The brunet clenched his fists. 'Shoving someone around under normal circumstances in one thing, but people _die_ of asthma attacks.'

Shinya was silent at that; not only was it really not his brother's fault in the least, even if he did punch the other's living daylights out, but he was right. That boy had crossed a second line; the first was picking on his best friend.

Hold on…

'Kimura?' he repeated. 'Isn't that the name Tommy told us yesterday?'

The two brothers looked at each other. Apparently, the world was small as well as cruel.

'But you still got a detention.'

'Yes, because he _never_ passes up the chance to get me in trouble.'

A pause.

'Why don't you like him?'

'Do you have to ask?'

Yes, he did. Because that dislike came before they found out about him bullying Tommy.

* * *

**024. Isolation**

The house, and his bedroom in particular, felt dark and empty. Not in the sense that it was bare; he had a rather large stuffed lion in one corner, complete with mane thinning with age. He had a photo on his desk, beside a lamp and before an assortment of books and stationary. Some of those books were his own: novels and even a couple of picture books treasured from his childhood. The futon was spread out on the floor, and he had a few other miscellaneous items scattered about; his school uniform was, albeit neatly, cast over his chair and a nice warm jacket was hanging behind the door.

But, even though the apartment was small for the average household and its rooms even more so, the room lacked something personal within it.

Except perhaps the darkness itself.

But he had never really put much effort into personalising it; one had to understand themselves first, picture themselves in a positive light, and that was something he preferred not to attempt. Somehow, the ambiguity was comforting…usually. But that afternoon the shadows were taunting. Suffocating.

He pushed the covers tiredly off his body, seeking solace in the company of his mother instead. It was a common occurrence; when he had a nightmare he would thereafter crawl under the covers with her and she would comfort him, tenderly stroking his hair or fur and rubbing soothing circles into his back.

The empty space next to her was also a painful reminder of the state of their family.

'Mum?' he half asked, half whispered into her bosom. His mind was still somewhat fogged by the need to rest: a consequence of an asthma attack and the medication he had taken thereafter. He would be fine in a few hours, if even that…but there were times when the state he currently possessed was far more welcome than his normalcy. Even as he continued his statement, his mind was only half paying attention to the words of his heart. 'I think I saw Koji today.'

Tomoko stifled a gasp at that, half sitting up. Koichi however did not move, the black cat curled into a languid ball in the crook of her arm.

'You have less than a year left,' she said finally.

'I know, but…I don't want to fight him.'

Silence again. Tomoko sat up fully, gathering the Cat into her lap and stroking the fur. 'I can't tell you what to do,' she said quietly. 'I don't know, and I wish to God I did. But you know the consequences; if you don't fight and win, you'll be locked in that room for the rest of your life.' Blue eyes met blue; it was fortunate that the phenotype did not bring about deafness in the cat as was the norm. One was shadowed with fatigue, the other with worry and diluted pain.

'I wish you could have gone far away.'

'I couldn't. I can't leave you Mama…'

The tone was soft, drowsy, but oh so tender, and it make her heart wail.

She wished he could to; maybe if he had been willing, they could have found away to escape the large realm of influence that tied them down. For her, anything was better than her son isolate forever, but he would not leave her, or his grandmother.

The only other option then was to defeat the Rat, and she couldn't, despite being a mother to both, wish for the Rat to win. Nor could she wish the tie of brotherhood be strong enough for the Cat to forever refrain. _As_ a mother, she knew it was still a rather large possibility.

After all, isolation was his greatest fear, and no amount of reason worked in its face.

* * *

**025. Starve**

Katsuharu came home to pandemonium. Two sisters, one older and one younger but far more achieving in the academics, were arguing about something. Their mother was alternating between chasing the two youngest brothers, a pair of twins at the mischievous age of three, and their rather unhelpful and bratty six year old elder brother. Their father was, presumably, still at work; his shoes at least were absent, but he rarely added to the pandemonium of the house anyway.

No, they had a dog to help out, currently attempting to claw his way up to a late lunch to no-one's notice. Except Katsuharu.

His "I'm home" went unheard; only the dog barked a brief greeting when he came over to rescue the other from its plight, and that was before it fell upon the food as though starved.

He departed a little while later to a little changed situation; only the dog had eaten his fill and curled up on the living room mat. His detention slip was left on the table; like everything else, it would probably be forgotten…assuming it was one of the lucky bits of paper concerning him that were read at all.


	6. 026-030

**A/N: ** This sure took a while.

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

* * *

**026. Breakable**

While Shinya had been healthily curious about the events that had interrupted their route to class after lunch, Takuya's mother was less than pleased.

'Breaking the rules again,' she muttered, stirring the curry pot ferociously as her son stood meekly behind her. 'What am I going to do with you?'

'But I didn't,' Takuya protested. Which he hadn't; he had simply been in the wrong place at the right time.

Sadly, the Vice-Principal hadn't seen it that way, and therefore neither had his mother.

And he wasn't going to even start on Koyabashi. He wasn't _that_ stupid.

* * *

**027. Winter**

Being grounded was not becoming for Takuya. It bored him, as his room simply did not contain enough entertainment. Cleaning easily clawed its way up to the top of his agenda, but despite its initial appearance the room wasn't as messy as it appeared.

Which left him sitting on his bed an hour later, flicking through sports magazines and being entirely frustrated. Baseball cards were neatly stacked up and piled with a rubber band around them. Soccer ball was under the desk…and staying there elsewise he would be in even bigger trouble.

He half wished a blizzard was going on outside. That way he could have enjoyed the knowledge that the rest of the region shared his difficulty. But as it was, it appeared the bright sunny day was being enjoyed of all but himself.

* * *

**028. Ignore**

Katsuharu didn't return home until after lunch the following day; he had slept at Teppei's for the night – the boy had been happy to have him – and then spent the morning of Sunday wondering around. The park had been full, packed with little kids enjoying the weather with elder brothers or parents. He didn't see his siblings anywhere though, nor did he care where they were, as long as he wasn't around them.

After all, it was because of them he was practically a stranger in his own home. His parents hadn't even commented on his disappearance; they probably hadn't even noticed.

* * *

**029. Colour**

Koji chose to spend his Sunday outdoors, but his choice had nothing to do with the weather…even if that was what he told his father.

Maybe it was his imagination, but the older man had seemed hurt as he departed. Perhaps it was because Kousei had finally gotten a weekend off, only to find his son had no interest in spending time with him.

Indeed, his imagination seemed to be working overtime, because his destination was a new flower shop that had opened in the district. The displays were rather feminine and bright. As he stepped into view it was as though he had been splashed in colour. Roses of red and pink and yellow. Surprisingly, he didn't see any white ones; maybe they were inside. Yellow sunflowers. Ranges of Sakura blossoms clinging to their branches: pink and white. Flowers he didn't even recognise. They were what caught his interest. After all, he wasn't romantically interested in anyone – and even if he was, there was the problem of his family curse.

There was a sale on too. But he didn't go into the shop. He didn't even come up to the glass. After all, there was only one person he could buy flowers for and she was long gone from his life.

And it was pointless to put flowers on a grave.

* * *

**030. Grace**

Koichi first thought he saw an angel flittering about the room, then realised his eyes were still clouded with sleep and it was in fact his mother. Not that it meant his earlier assumption was far off the mark. He didn't realise though he had mumbled as much until his mother laughed.

He blushed, but didn't mind too much. His mother's laughter was worth it.

He yawned and stretched, back arching and paws fumbling the blankets before scrambling off. Tomoko gracefully danced around his tail; she had long since mastered that art.

When she offered her arm, the cat sprung and curled around her shoulder. Soon, he would change back. Become a human who carried a curse and was a burden to all. But as a cat he could enjoy his mother's warmth, and she was happy to give it. Because it made him happy. And a cat caught in the throughs of sleep was simple; instinct ruled. A cat's instinct, wherein no worries existed beyond the smell of milk.

Really, that was the only bright side to it all. That he could curl just a little closer to her in the mornings.


	7. 031-035

**A/N: ** No Koji and co. this time. I guess it makes up for the first lot where there was no Koichi. :)

* * *

**_The Curse of the Cat_**

* * *

**031. Belong**

That sunny day was the last in awhile; winter was fast upon them all, and school broke up for New Year. Everybody had mixed feelings about it: Koji wasn't looking forward to the Zodiac Banquet, particularly as it was his year to do the dance with a distant cousin. His father wasn't looking forward to it, since no-one worked at New Years and he would, like every year, miss the chance to spend it with his family. Zoe was ecstatic; she was going back to Italy with her parents to visit their extended family. Tommy was half-thrilled; Yutaka was coming back from college but that also meant there were more opportunities for brotherly squabbles. Takuya was…Takuya. Nothing really changed with New Years, except he got his favourite food.

Koichi was another story, but of course the other five had no knowledge of that. After all, the Cat did not belong with the Zodiac; they simply carried the part of the curse that relieved the rest. Koji didn't even _know_ who the Cat was, and if Koichi had his way things would stay like that.

But to stand outside in the snow, watching the banquet from afar and wishing, just wishing, he was a part of that family…

But the only way was to fight his brother. His twin. And he couldn't do that. He just _couldn't_.

* * *

**032. Choke**

Fuyuno stared impassively. Koichi didn't turn to him; he'd bundled himself up as best as he could but the cold still chilled him to the bone. And it didn't help that the Head of the family had come out; he was a silently imposing figure, and the lack of feeling in his eyes chilled most who met his gaze to the bone. And for someone who lived off warmth, it was even more effective.

The sheep followed; Risshun, with her long fluffy pigtails, pale skin and shaky grip. She always followed Fuyuno; between all the Zodiac members, she was the most closely related to him. A half-sister, as opposed to cousins sometimes with enough distance to lose the Sohma family name in the maternal lines. She brought an umbrella, which she held above the elder's head. The snow fell upon her own hair, dusting it white. Koichi's hair also provided a landing ground, but his hair was too dark to ever look so pure or so innocently beautiful.

Within the hall they all could hear the sound of music being played. The dance to welcome the New Year would soon begin. Fuyuno looked at the Cat; he looked back, resisting the urge to fiddle with the charms around his wrist. Nothing travelled between, hence why it was such a shock when the Head stepped forward and grabbed the other's collar.

'When will you stop this foolishness?' There was little fervour in his tone; it seemed the other had only yanked the other to his toes so the height difference between them was absorbed. That way, he could see the other's eyes better; to Koichi though, it made no difference in the least.

Whether it mattered to Fuyuno or not was only known to him; he released the other and turned. Koichi, as unexpectedly released as he was seized, to slip on the icy ground beneath him.

Dazed, he blinked up at the wavering sky, a mix of white and black and grey…and was that a hint of red?

* * *

**033. Reach**

'While I admire your stubbornness, you can be a real idiot you know that?'

Koichi blinked, trying to assemble the input his eyes were giving to some degree of order. A blurry and somewhat annoyed face hovered over him. There were mixed smells as well; dye mixed in with chicken soup and the coppery tang that could only be blood.

'Honestly, _you_ don't have to listen to him. You know that.'

Koichi blinked again, this time gaining a little footing. 'Teruo?'

'Yeah,' the other said, a tad affectionally. 'Your dear cousin who takes it upon himself to look after you, seeing as you never do it yourself.'

'You're a part of the Zodiac,' the Cat mumbled, apparently forgetting they'd already had that conversation. 'You'll get into trouble.'

'So I should have let you catch hypothermia out in the snow with a concussion from falling against the steps?' The other raised an eyebrow. 'And remember I'm the Cow. Considering I hate the Rat and all, I don't think anyone else really thinks twice about me being friendly with you.'

'I think you're supposed to hate me more.'

Teruo clicked his tongue. 'Want me to?'

'…no.'

'Good. Now shut up and go back to sleep. You're also running a fever, in case you didn't notice.'

Koichi hadn't. And Teruo informed him a little too late, as he was already out like a light by the time the brunet finished his statement, leaving the Cow alone to grumble as to the unfairness of it all and relieved that the other was now within reach, and would be safe for a time.

As members of the Zodiac they were cursed, but it was the Cat alone doomed to never find happiness. At least _they_ would continue to live, if under their God, and one day it would be their only life and bring that fulfilment. But for the Cat there was only the dark room with no escape and no hope. And even now, there was nothing below the Cat, who himself was below everybody else.

And even Teruo, as fond as he was of his cousin, was not perfect in that. And if he was truly honest with himself, he tended to the other now not for _his_ sake, but his own. Because to do so meant the other was reliant on _him_, needed _him_, instead of him needing his God as things always stood.

There was no avoiding that hierarchy. That curse.

* * *

**034. Difficult**

The cold had really done a number on Koichi, and the concussion had simply complicated matters. Teruo's mother wouldn't let him leave their home for weeks, but it lay inside the compound and his mother, not a Sohma by blood and living outside the compound herself, could not try to visit. Not only would she be turned at the gates, but it could possibly cause Teruo and his parents some problems.

The internal affairs of the Sohmas were a very complicated business, and despite having married one she was kept separated from them. It didn't help too that, together, they had sired two children cursed by the Zodiac, and worse still the two who were fated to be the worst of enemies to eternity. She hadn't realised how horrible that was though; she didn't mind they changed when she hugged them. It was simply another part of them, and she loved them just as much as she would have any other children. And because of that she couldn't condone it – any of it.

And so, in the end, she had taken Koichi and left that life forever. But it wasn't as simple as that, because while she was free Koichi was still tied up in the affairs of his father's family, and there was no escaping that blood…or that curse.

* * *

**035. Heat**

Koichi shifted restlessly under the covers; there were few times wherein he said he was hot, but the current circumstances invited it.

'Hush.' A cool hand petted his forehead before replacing the blankets he'd pushed aside. 'You need to sweat off that fever.'

But it was uncomfortable. He could barely think. He couldn't even eat; his stomach churned at the smell of anything. But through all that, he was restless.

No. Restless wasn't the right word. Uncomfortable may have been closer to the mark. Because of New Years. Because he was in the Main House, so closer to…

…and because the end would be coming far too soon. Soon enough for him to know he probably wouldn't be seeing another New Years.

Teruo's mother clucked her tongue, a little impatiently although worry laced the undertones. 'No, keep the covers on! You do want to go home to your mother, don't you?' She added immediately: 'Not that we mind having you here, but I do wish you would visit your aunt on your own steam.'

That was a little hard to do as well, being the Cat of the Zodiac and all. He was only allowed in when Fuyuno requested his presence, and that was generally to stand outside in the snow for New Years while the banquet continued on within.

'Oh dear. Your eyes are so red.' Fingertips forced his lids closed. 'Do try to get some sleep.'

And Koichi obeyed his aunt – his father's first cousin actually – and slept.


	8. 036-040

**A/N: **Okay, back to the slow progression...

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

* * *

**036. Veneer**

Zoe wasn't thrilled to bump into Chiaki on her first day back; she'd missed two days of the new term thanks to her flight and timezones, and she understandably had been running late thanks to a trip to the Principal's office. The other however had most likely been fixing her makeup, or so the blonde scathingly thought as they silently glared each other to class.

At least she had managed to keep it silent that the thin covering made her look like a washed up rag doll. In her opinion anyway.

She was surprised to find the seat behind her empty as she sat, and she spent the remaining two minutes of homeroom attempting to remember who it was who sat there. It distracted her, which was good as Chiaki had not stopped glaring until their first period teacher entered the room.

It was also at that point where it clicked; she remembered. Koichi Kimura. Rather quiet and hardly ever stood out in class. The type that one would normally forget, except Tommy and Takuya had both mentioned his name before the break, and in two totally different contexts.

She was good at remembering stuff like that.

* * *

**037. Fall**

Zoe was a little concerned to find Koichi absent the following day as well, and when she asked the teacher and found he hadn't returned since the break she was even more worried. It was mostly because of Tommy…or rather, the two bullies who enjoyed using him as sport. Luckily the brunet had avoided any further run-ins with them, but the story Takuya had told (with a few interjections from Koji) was fresh on her mind, and she couldn't help but wonder if they'd done something to the quiet boy during the holiday for his interference.

_Not that it really accomplished anything_, Zoe mused, remembering how worked up Tommy had been about somebody else getting hurt on his behalf. On the other hand, it might prompt him to stand up for himself…but that really remained to be seen. It also remained to be seen whether such actions would accomplish something, and whether somebody else taking a fall worked out or not. And that set her wondering as to why someone who didn't even know another would willingly take a hit for somebody else and not lift a hand to defend oneself.

She spoke to all three of them: Tommy, Takuya and Koji. It was Tommy who put her worries to ease.

'They'd brag about it if they did something,' he pointed out. 'They always do.'

But that didn't explain the absence. She also couldn't explain why she was worried either, although no-body asked. She couldn't help but notice that her friends looked a tad worried as well after she informed: worried enough to ask her the next day.

At least her answer was different by then, seeing as he had returned…although he looked rather pale and weak.

* * *

**038. Nightmare**

Once the days had realigned themselves properly and Koichi had a good gauge as to the passing of time, he wished they were still hazed and muddled. For a few days he still couldn't walk the length of their small apartment without dizziness forcing him down.

The worst was watching the sun crawl up and then dip and counting the hours alone, the hours lost. He would rather be at school, surrounded by people even if he was just a shadow passing through. It was easier to lose oneself therein, not thinking about the time that was lost and the time that remained…

On his own, it was a living nightmare he could not unravel.

* * *

**039. Contagious**

Koichi was surprised at the looks he received upon returning; normally the other students didn't go out of their way to stare at him and he much preferred that. He still wasn't feeling as well as he should, but he was well enough to return to school and simply could not remain at home while his mother worked.

He was relieved though to find the majority avoided him. Oh, it hurt of course; it was hard to ignore actions people went out of their way to execute, but it kept them from pulling him inward and he was glad for that.

Nothing would come out of it after all.

* * *

**040. Good riddance**

Zoe wondered if she should say something, and her decision swayed throughout the day. First, it was simply because he was somewhat acquainted with her friends…but that had seemed like such a weak reason. Then it was how sick he still looked – and he was coughing too, throat scratchy and raw – and how some others made it a show of backing away from him.

Obviously, they were just kidding around, but that sort of thing you did with people you were close to. Perhaps they all took it for granted that a class that progressed up the years together was close, but the truth was they didn't know everybody. She had only noticed when Takuya had mentioned a name that nagged at the back of her sentences. But those same actions could help people who weren't close.

She supposed that – and the fact that they were supposed to be selecting partners for a pair assignment – was what made her stand up, and she did it so fiercely that everybody looked at her – except Koichi, who took the opportunity to bury himself into his book. That made her angrier – it reminded her of Tommy in a sense, but also not…although it explained why he had allowed himself to be hit and hadn't fought – and marched up to him.

The blue eyes marked her shadow. His expression showed surprise and…caution?

She disregarded that. 'We're working together,' she ordered, much to the shock of everybody present. Normally, both of them would up being paired separately by the teacher with the last dregs of the class. 'Meet me at the gates after school.'

It didn't occur to her to ask whether the other had a club meeting or any other after school commitment. She simply turned around and went back to her seat. The gazes of the rest of the class followed her before returning to their normal routine, and she huffed silently at them.

_Good riddance._ She'd thought they had better things to do, but apparently she was mistaken. And by that time, the teacher had returned to arrange the remaining students into random pairs – and she was surprised too to find that two students she normally had to assign had paired themselves together.


	9. 041-045

**A/N: **Hmm, there's a lot of Kousei in here...relatively speaking.

BTW, does anyone else think this isn't enough of a crossover to be in the crossover section?

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

* * *

**041. Goodbye**

Koji mumbled a reply to his father's goodbye as the elder man vanished out the door.

It wasn't anything new; his father was always working. Surprising, considering he was wealthy. Their entire family was; they owned more than half the city when it came down to that, when you counted all their extended relations. So it wasn't really necessary to work inane hours, however his father felt rather differently.

And that _feeling_ saw him out the door at eight every day – including most Sundays. And that always left Koji with an empty house to entertain himself with…around school and clubs and the likes.

And the arcade, and his new friends…which were taking quite a bit of his time, and attention…

…and his heart. So why was he a little sadder now when his father left the house so early and he sat on the couch with a slice of toast and a cup of milk?

* * *

**042. Scarred**

Kousei tapped the wheel as the car stopped in traffic; the line snaked on, past the green light and to a red beyond his sight. It stretched behind him as well, beyond the review mirror's field of vision.

He wondered why the extra delay; traffic was always bad but not _that_ bad. He would be lucky to reach his office on time.

The car inched forward a little more, and he sighed, wishing he could have had a day off and spend it with his family. That was a bit of a joke in itself, as he only had half a family at home, and not a particularly happy one.

He felt a small stab watching a pair of siblings running ahead of their mother. Year one by the looks of things. Twins. Happy. Two sides of a whole.

Not ripped apart. Scarred.

Not…cursed.

* * *

**043. Last Dance**

Kousei hadn't gone to the New Year celebrations. He'd been working: not at the office, but at the home of a client. His line of work could not escape public holidays, as he had to work around their schedules as well as office hours. And he usually wound up working with several cases at once; it was one of the disadvantages of being an esteemed member of the Sohma clan.

Not that most people understood. After all, his son was the Rat. All parents of the Zodiac members received a healthy amount from the main house to rear their children, and the Rat's parents received the most. On top of that, his day job spread through both the Sohma clan and outside and paid well enough that they could live well without the added affluence.

In truth, it had nothing to do with the money. It was just that he _had_ to keep working. It was the momentum. If he stopped, everything would come crashing down.

The car inched forward again, and this time he caught sight of the reason for the delay. An accident; a truck had ploughed into a car at the intersection ahead. A white sheet; someone had died. A young person, by the looks of the folds and the limp hand that had slipped out.

Whoever it was had danced their – her by the looks of the slender wrist – last dance.

Kousei lifted his foot off the break as the car finally slid onto the unobscured road.

In truth, he was dancing too. A dance he'd danced for over ten years.

* * *

**044. Burn**

Takuya sighed. He'd spent a healthy portion of his holiday grounded, which he felt was most unfair. Although he hadn't exactly helped matters by following the first visit to the Vice Principal with another one less than three days later – and this time with genuine reason. Unfortunately, that had been the last straw and even his easy-going father had found it fit to punish him.

So by the time he was out and about again, he was itching for a game of soccer. He didn't care if he was playing against trees.

Sadly, that had left him with sunburn after the summer heat, and he went back to school still sprouting the remains. His mother, fierce when mad and caring otherwise, sent him off smelling of aloe vera and he'd stopped by the fountain the first day to wash it off – and came back home with his entire face sore once again, tender skin burnt anew.

If it hadn't been for the trouble he always got into, he could have stayed home, but he had to endure. With aloe vera, and laughs he contributed to.

After all, if you can't beat them. Join them.

But he was still relieved when he could grin properly by the end of the week.

* * *

**045. Steady**

Shinya followed his elder brother home that Saturday.

'Don't you have anywhere else to be?'

'Nope.'

'Oh, really?'

Shinya grinned at the annoyed look. 'Who's dumb enough to play soccer in this weather?' he teased, before groaning. 'I melted last period.'

'We had air conditioning,' Takuya said smugly, glad for the chance at revenge.

'No fair,' the younger Kanbara pouted, balancing on the curb. 'We had all the windows open and the flies – aargh.' His foot slipped.

Takuya instinctively reached out to grab him, although his assistance really wasn't necessary as there were no cars to be seen on the quiet street.

'Be careful,' the elder grumbled, abruptly releasing him and continuing on his way.

Shinya grinned and followed – with more care of course. 'Why are you being so grumpy? You know you love me?'

'I'm not _grumpy_,' Takuya shot back. 'I'm hot.'

'So am I, but I'm not _grumpy_.' The younger boy thought for a moment. 'I suppose it's thanks to no air-conditioning.'

'We'll both have air conditioning as soon as we get home.'

And they both hurried, and Shinya happily thought of how, the same time last year, Takuya must definitely had been grumpy…although he wasn't this year; it was just younger sibling teasing as opposed to the wall that had once stood between them.

'What in the world are you grinning at?'

Shinya didn't answer.


	10. 046-050

**A/N: **Anyone still reading? This will be the quarter point...

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

* * *

**046. Monster**

Zoe's final period was art. And as usual, it was an interesting lesson. Not for what they learnt; they were simply drawing from imagination – not that many were functioning to their full capacity.

So, as a result, most minds were wandering. The blonde's was wandering to lunch and her cat at home, probably the only one in her family enjoying the weather. That brought her back to lunch, and not the potato salad she had enjoyed.

Something had caused her to mention her cat, and that had turned into an interesting discussion when Koji had called the white fluffball a monster.

Needless to say, Zoe had been insulted.

'What have you against cats?' she flared.

Koji had looked somewhat surprised, and the look persisted until ht clicked to the girl that the other was the Rat of the Zodiac.

'Fluffy's more of a bird cat,' she tried instead, changing tracks.

Koji shrugged. 'I've never even met the Cat. That doesn't change anything. It's just the way things are.'

Both she and Takuya blinked at that.

'There's a Cat in the Zodiac as well?'

'I've told you the story, haven't I?'

He had.

'But aren't you jumping the gun?' Takuya asked. 'I mean, you also thought no-one would like you for you once they knew you, but haven't we proved that wrong?' His tone may have been joking, but his eyes were unusually serious.

'I suppose,' Koji admitted, 'but truthfully, that won't change much of anything. The Cat is the only thing below the rest of the Zodiac in terms of the curse: the one we look at as someone worse off. Whether it's hatred or pity, it doesn't matter.' He shrugged. 'And that doesn't change that the Cat and the Rat are destined to be enemies forever too.'

Zoe would have once said it was rubbish, but the Sohma family curse seemed a lot more persistent than her own optimism.

She said it anyway.

Takuya grinned. 'Imagine if you two wind up being best buds…after you stop patronising the poor guy or girl from afar.' He laughed at that; the other two looked at him as though he had grown an extra head.

* * *

**047. Voodoo**

Koichi covered his paper in record timing, which was unusual considering all his classmates were sprouting quite a large number of white pages. But that left him with more thinking-time than he liked, and he spent the beginning of it playing with the Jojo beads around his wrist.

He was careful though; he couldn't risk the string snapping after all.

Each bead turned under his gentle fingers. They, to be honest, still creeped him out a little; they were made from the bones of humans that had died long ago. He wasn't sure which, but many a Clan member had told him they were the bones of previous people cursed by the Cat…like him.

It was worse, knowing that others, innocent people, wore imitations brought at local shrines to ward off voodoo – like plastic was a substitute to the real thing. It was like the pinky promise; he wondered what people would do if they knew where the real power of such things came from.

If they knew what lengths were necessary to prevent the likes of curses – or just surpress them.

He shivered, even if the room was a little warm, even for him. Actually, most others were sweating – but one mercy of being the Cat was enjoying the heat.

* * *

**048. Shine**

The sun shone almost red and the heat blasted Zoe as soon as she stepped outside, and to her it was a wonder Koichi didn't look in the least uncomfortable with it.

'I thought we could go to my house,' she admitted, tying her braid of hair into a tight know to get it away from her neck. 'But we'll be two melted popsicles when we get there.'

'It's nice weather,' Koichi said quietly, looking skyward. While Zoe gave him an incredulous look, he continued: 'We could go to the library.'

'Good idea.' The surprise turned to relief and she shook her head. _Like anyone could actually _like_ this heat_, she scoffed to herself. 'I take it your house is far as well?'

'Uhh…yes.' He looked a little caught of guard at the statement, which was interesting.

'Are you sure you're okay enough to be back at school?' she asked, a touch of concern in her voice. 'I'm sure if you have a doctor's certificate the teachers couldn't really object.'

'I don't.' He had waited for her to finish instead of interrupting like Takuya would have done. 'I'm okay though.'

'You still look pale.' Zoe crossed her arms. 'You really should take better take of your health you know.'

'I'm fine,' the other repeated. 'I'm always getting sick with something or other.'

'…Oh.' She hovered a little, uncertain. She wasn't quite sure what to say to that. 'Let's go,' she said eventually, gesturing.

'Uhh…yeah.' Koichi moved past her to take the stair, then tripped over the bag strap the blonde had cast earlier, not wanting to add the bag to the heat.

He automatically reached out; Zoe, on reflex, grabbed him.

Somehow, Zoe wound up hanging on to a black cat's paw as she lay sprawled on the flat portion before the first stair dropped down.

* * *

**049. Intent**

Zoe blinked. If she were perfectly honest with herself, she had been hoping to one day meet the Cat of the Zodiac through the last period, but she'd never expected Koichi of all people to be it. But he must have been, because she was hanging on to the paw while the other's school uniform cushioned the fall.

And then the cat was gone, clawing itself out of the tangle that was its clothes and escaping. The blonde opened her mouth to yell after him. But she stopped herself; something Koji had said after she'd tripped onto him stopped her. About the secret. About the curse being known only to a select few. Of the layers upon layers of depth that laced their family, and particularly those cursed by the Zodiac. Of the family head, and whatever plan he had with emotions that were hardly seen and decisions that seemed cold and frozen and perfectly calculated.

And lunch. The Cat. The poor Cat.

Then she realised how she must look. Luckily, no-one had been around as she quickly gathered the clothes and stuffed them into Koichi's bookbag, before stuffing that into her own bag after a bit of rearranging.

* * *

**050. Camping**

'You coming on the field trip Koji?'

Koji snorted. 'Who wants to sleep with bugs?'

'It's not about sleeping with bugs.' The class president sounded almost injured at the summary. 'It's the sites and the food…and we're sleeping indoors anyway.'

'Doesn't stop bugs.'

The secretary grinned. 'Minamoto's scared of bugs?'

'No,' the other scoffed. 'It just so happens that they are rather fond of me.' He grimaced at that, swatting a fly away from him. Why couldn't the have cancelled kendo club; granted, it was indoors and under air-conditioning, but it didn't start straight after school finished and he was forced to hang around in the humid halls – and suffer company.

'Hey.' The secretary turned around as she heard footsteps. 'How about you, Orimoto?'

Koji jerked as Zoe grabbed his wrist and proceeded to drag him down the hall. 'No time,' she yelled back to the two members of the student council, both of whom were staring flabbergasted after him.


	11. 051-055

**A/N: **Enjoy.

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

* * *

**051. Grave**

Tomoko knelled back on her heels and lit a fresh stick of incense, letting its sweet scent cloak the grave and the small shrine that been built around it. It wasn't the usual yearly visit, but sometimes she came to see her mother when Koichi was at school. It was…nice, to be able to talk to her about things, things she simply could not talk about with her son.

And Koichi understood, because likewise there were things he could not talk about with her.

And she had talked. Then payed her respects. And now she hovered in the silence and the incense until her lunch break ended.

* * *

**052. Machine**

Koji had to wonder how a _girl_, and one his age (a single month older to be technically accurate), was able to drag him down the hallway and to an empty classroom – and halfway with no assistance from him whatsoever.

Not that he was going to say that out loud. Zoe was a feminist if he ever met one, and she could punch too. According to Takuya anyway; _he_ had enough sense not to test that hypothesis.

At least Zoe was out of breath though. That proved she was human and not a machine, because really. Who would _not_ be out of breath, particularly considering the ridiculous weather they'd been having. The end of winter and it was as hot as the day he was born…right near the end of June.

But all those thoughts flew out of his head when Zoe dumped a male school uniform at his feet. And he did the most eloquent thing he could think of in that situation. He blinked.

'Uhh…Zoe? Why do you have a guy's uniform?'

* * *

**053. Destination**

_Ack, why can't Koji just read my mind?_

Not that she could honestly expect Koji to be capable of such a thing; she didn't think the Zodiac curse stretched that far in anybody's case – although she wasn't sure about the mysterious Head of the Family.

But that was getting off topic. If Koji couldn't put two and two together with only three pieces, she would have to explain.

'The Cat –' she began.

'Fluffy?' Koji looked blank.

'Not Fluffy.' Now she rolled her eyes; Koji was being a little unnecessarily dense with that reply. 'The Cat from the Zodiac.'

'But what –' Koji began, still befuddled before the clothes clicked in his mind. 'He goes to this school?!' A pause. 'Hang on, you hugged him?'

'He tripped!' Zoe exclaimed, blushing slightly. 'And I tried to stop him from falling down the stairs. And nobody saw – I think.' She mumbled under her breath: 'I hope not anyway.'

Koji shook his head. 'Great Zoe. Why bother telling me?'

Zoe actually looked a tad uncomfortable. 'I thought you might want to know,' she said quietly. 'Or are you going to hate someone you don't know because of destiny?'

She made a fair point, except she was slightly off the mark. Truth be told, he didn't hate the unknown Cat; he was…in a sense…afraid. Because the Rat tricked the Cat, and wasn't the whole problem between the pair that the Cat wanted revenge?

A part of him was unsure he could handle centuries of rage.

'The thing is…' Zoe was shuffling her feet again. 'We have an assignment to do together.'

Koji got the feeling there was more to the story than that.

'And he kind of ran off. Or the cat ran off really. So I was wondering if you could help me look.'

Koji sighed. That would be a disaster if – any Zodiac member really – transformed back without their clothes. And the times were unpredictable as well. It sounded like the unnamed Cat had left his brain with his clothes – or something akin.

'You do realise rats normally stay _away_ from cats?'

'Great, you'll help.'

And before Koji could protest, she was dragging him. This time outside.

'We'd better find the others too.'

'Don't bother.' Koji sighed again. 'They're probably halfway home by now. Or already there.'

And he couldn't help but envy them a little when the heat blasted him in the face. 'Seriously,' he muttered. 'Some God's having a blast with the weather mess.'

'Amen to that,' Zoe agreed, releasing him on the steps.

They stayed for a minute.

'You have no idea where we should start, do you?'

'Nope.

* * *

**054. Nowhere**

Koji wondered if he was mistaken as to the fact that cats were fond of alleyways, because there were plenty of alleyways around and yet they had not found a black cat or naked human in any of them.

Nor had they heard anything out of the ordinary, which almost entirely ruled out the latter option, because Japanese were very good at picking out abnormalities…and that wasn't a good thing in many cases.

Still, it was frustrating not having found a wayward Zodiac member he hadn't even met before. He was starting to wish a bird had been born into their generation so they could send the guy or girl out looking as well.

Although, seeing as Fluffy was apparently rather fond of skinning birds and doing unthinkable things to them, that might not be such a bright idea.

* * *

**055. Garden**

It was Zoe who suggested the park.

'Fluffy also loves the sun,' she explained. 'And the garden. She always stretches out in the flowerbed when she's not chasing anything.'

But the garden was empty.

Koji signed, then tipped his head back. His neck was getting stiff – which was a surprise. Perhaps it was recalling the warm-up he should have been partaking in at that moment (as he was now late for kendo practice). He didn't expect to be blinking at a black cat in the tree though – nor apparently did the said cat, as it cried out, a mix of human shriek and an animal's, and almost fell off the branch.

Zoe snapped around to look as the cat managed to use its two front paws and its tail to hang on.

'Koichi,' she exclaimed. 'Thank goodness – ' she broke off. 'Should you still be a cat?'

The cat backed away into the shadow of the tree.

'Koichi,' Koji repeated. 'Koichi Kimura. The one you and Tommy wouldn't stop going on about?'

'Shut it Koji,' Zoe snapped, albeit lightly, before awkwardly holding up her bag. 'Uh, I've got your uniform and bag here.'

The cat shrunk further into the shadows. Zoe blinked.

'I already know about the Zodiac curse.'

That didn't seem to help at all, though the head did tilt slightly to the side.


	12. 056-060

**A/N: ** Hot days in winter feel extra hot because they're contrasted to the cold. And this finishes off the first 'arc'. Not that these are strictly split into arcs or anything.

Shokan means January 5, or entrance of the cold. I'm following the tradition of Fruits Basket in naming the OC characters involved with the Zodiac.

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

**056. I Know**

So Zoe knew about the curse. Koichi had gathered as much from her reaction when he'd transformed, but that didn't explain why she was standing there, with his things no less, and –

– and Koji.

His mind wanted very much to panic. Of all the people that had to come along, it had to be _him_. Granted, he'd rather no-one come after him, but evidently that had been far too much to hope for.

The only blessing was that Koji didn't appear to recognise him, nor the other time –

He backed further into the shadows until his tail was pressed against the slender trunk.

But Zoe was smiling. And Koji – didn't look threatening, or angry, or anything one would expect from a meeting between the Rat and the Cat of the Zodiac – considering only an idiot would confuse him with the tiger.

And he was tired. Maybe not bordering on exhaustion as he hadn't transformed from it, but it was enough to make sure he didn't transform _back_ without some rest.

Which, in retrospect, was a good thing.

* * *

**057. Dust**

Zoe was starting to wonder if the two boys – or Zodiac members, considering one was in their animal form – would turn into dust sculptures before something happened. Really, were the…issues between the Rat and the Cat _that_ serious?

'Uh…' she spoke after a moment. While it was cooler under the shade and she wasn't baking in the direct heat of the sun, she did want to move some time in the next century. 'Could you come down before you – you know – ' She went a little red again.

_Honestly, couldn't the curse come with an in-built clothing mechanism for de-transformations?_

The cat blinked slowly at her, as if he didn't understand.

'Oh come on.' She was exasperated, and if the branch didn't look like it would snap against her weight she would have climbed up to fetch him. And she was positive he was the right one.

'You know we Zodiac members can sense the curse,' Koji said a hair's breath after. 'So don't try acting like an innocent cat. And could you hurry up; I do need to be back in kendo.'

He wasn't sure if the cat slipped thereafter or had been guilt-tripped into obeying and mis-stepped, but the next moment the small body was falling out of the tree. Koji didn't move; he knew enough about cats to know they would land on their feet, but Zoe had stepped forward and the other had landed neatly on her head before she recalled.

And embarrassed, the cat tried to leap away. But this time Zoe was faster and had trapped him under her arm.

'Got you,' she said triumphantly. 'Now, is your house anywhere near here? Mine's the opposite direction to the school and so is the library, and I do not fancy the walk.'

* * *

**058. Dream**

Tomoko came home to a girl she didn't recognise sitting on the floor, and her son no-where to be seen.

'Oh, you must be Koichi's mother.' The blonde girl shot up from where she had been sitting on the floor. When Tomoko nodded her affirmative, she continued: 'I'm Zoe Orimoto, a classmate from school. We're…going to be working on a project together.'

Tomoko nodded slowly. 'Where's Koichi then? Bathroom?'

'Uhh…' She looked a little uncomfortable. 'He's…sleeping.'

She looked closely at the younger girl, and shook her head. 'I take it you saw.'

'Uh…yes ma'am.'

'It's Tomoko.'

'Yes ma'- Ms Tomoko.' Zoe paused. 'I already knew about the curse though; one of my other friends –'

Tomoko shook her head. 'With half the district owned by the Sohmas, it's no wonder I suppose. Although I must admit I'm surprised your memories were not erased.'

'Koji said the same thing.'

Tomoko, who had turned her head to the closed door where her son slept off his exhaustion (she _told_ him not to go to school but he was going up the wall at home), snapped back. 'Koji Minamoto?'

Zoe affirmed the surname. Tomoko said nothing on the subject thereafter, simply offering cookies and an invitation to lunch. The other was happy to accept, especially since it meant her father could pick her up on the way home from walk and they'd be home in time for her mother's dinner and desert.

* * *

**059. Destiny**

Koichi wondered if it was all a dream when he awoke, but Zoe was at the kitchen table, talking to his mother as she cooked.

'Good afternoon sleepyhead,' Tomoko said cheerfully. 'Feeling better now?'

Zoe grinned. Koichi blinked, then answered. 'Yes, Mum.'

'We've got time before dinner,' the blonde said. 'Want to get a plan down?'

Without waiting for an answer, she shot off for their bags and spread the required materials out on the table. 'I think we should pick a tsunami, seeing as everyone was talking about earthquakes in class today – hello, are you listening to me?' She sounded a little irate.

'I'm sorry,' he mumbled, looking down.

'For what?'

'Now,' Tomoko laughed from the stove. 'Don't ask him that; he'll never say what you want to hear.'

'Koichi?' Zoe looked at him. 'Look, I know about the curse. I don't care; I know it sucks for all of you, but that doesn't change anything else. It doesn't change we're working on a project now, does it? Otherwise you wouldn't be at school, especially a co-ed school.' She pushed the paper aside. 'But we're not getting anywhere here, so let's talk about what happened this afternoon. And don't say it's because you thought I didn't know, because I told you and that didn't seem to change things.'

Koichi closed his eyes. 'It did,' he said quietly. 'But how much do you really understand about the curse?'

Zoe blinked.

'You know the Cat is and can never be a part of the Zodiac.'

She half nodded.

_So she doesn't know…_

Tomoko was silent at the stove, simply clattering away.

'And someone cursed with the Zodiac can never belong to the world that exists outside.'

'Koji said that as well,' Zoe said, equally quietly. 'But I don't understand that.'

Koichi shook her head. 'You don't need to, but _please_, stay away from me.' His voice broke on the emphasis. 'Don't get too close.'

'Sorry.' The words were insincere, and Koichi's head snapped up to look at her. 'I'm a stubborn person you know. So unless you tell me honestly you don't want to be my friend – which I seriously doubt is the case here, you're simply going to have to put up with my company. And I rather like the idea of getting to pick my partner for a change, and at least with you I know I'm not going to get stuck doing the whole project myself.' She sighed nasally. 'I don't have to tell you how annoying that is.'

Koichi looked at his mother. Tomoko simply shrugged. To be honest, she didn't see the problem in giving destiny a little kick to get her to back off. And she rather liked this Zoe girl too; she also didn't see a problem in her quiet son spending more time with a headstrong young lady like that.

At least the time he had left anyway. And maybe…

She shook her head, continuing to prepare their meal. Somehow she doubted _that_ was going to change. Still, it couldn't hurt for Koichi to be a little more assertive.

And there was the possibility Fuyuno would change his mind. Which she hoped and prayed for every day.

* * *

**060. Spring**

Tomoko waited until Zoe had left before she sat down beside her son for a word.

'She's a nice girl,' was her first comment.

Predictably, Koichi blushed darkly. '_Mum!'_

'Moving on from that,' Tomoko continued, the atmosphere predictably darkening. 'You transformed in front of her, didn't you. But she knew of the curse before that.'

He nodded. 'I think she's seen Koji transform; he was with her.'

'I see.' Her tone was guarded, revealing nothing. 'I must say I'm surprised…but it's a good thing, I think.'

'It's not.' It was a protest, but not one with much vigour backing it. 'Outsiders aren't supposed to know about a curse; you remember what happened to Shokan.'

'Shokan's story was a mix of tragedy and interference into things that were best left alone.'

'We can't stop that interference, Mum.'

'No.' Tomoko closed her eyes. 'You're –' She shook her head.

_At least by June you'll be free…one way or another. Either a part of the Zodiac for life, or never to be…_

'Tomorrow's Spring,' she simply said, quietly.

'Yeah...'

There was silence for a brief moment.

'You do have to work with her, you know,' Tomoko said eventually. 'And if she's serious with pairing with you for every assignment, you're either going to have to go along with her or tell her straight out you don't want to – which you cant because you do.'

Koichi said nothing to that, simply staring at some dark corner.

'You know what I think?' she asked quietly. 'Make the most of the time you have here. Don't worry about the future; things change. You know that. Maybe the curse will be broken. Maybe Fuyuno will change his mind.' _Maybe you'll change yours._

'Maybe.' But Koichi didn't sound convinced.


	13. 061-065

**A/N: ** Sorry for the lateness. Completely forgot about last weeks update and was busy with Death Note this week.

At this rate I'm going to run out of backlogs. *sigh*.

Oh yes, for those of who who haven't seen this before, it was moved over from the crossover section from the suggestion of a few reviewers.

* * *

**_The Curse of the Cat_**

* * *

**061. Sigh**

Tommy was surprised when his brother offered to take him out for ice-cream on their day off, but did not refuse. But when Yutaka brought him his favourite (honeycomb and chocolate chip), he was starting to wonder why.

Normally, Yutaka refrained from hanging out with him, not insisting.

Yutaka just licked away at his own green tea cone as Tommy stared at him, but when all he had all but polished off his cone and his little brother's was melting over his fingers, he sighed.

'You do have to ask questions to get answers.'

* * *

**062. Fingertips**

Now that was more like the Yutaka Tommy was used to.

'Why did you bring me out for ice cream?' Tommy asked.

'It's hot,' the elder brother responded, taking a drink of water to wash down the sweetness. That was a disadvantage of ice cream; they had the unfortunate nature of making their enjoyer thirsty as well as cool.

Tommy licked at his fingertips before the honey dribbled onto his shirt and the bees followed him home. After all, it was bad enough with flies buzzing about the place and being attracted to any hot and sweaty body outdoors. 'You know that's not what I mean,' he grumbled finally. 'You normally don't like going places wit me.'

'That's because you're normally acting bratty,' Yutaka responded calmly. 'And don't look at me like that. You know it's true…and I'm well aware "bratty" is not a real word.'

Tommy shut his mouth and looked away for a moment.

'So what changed?' he asked quietly.

Yutaka just shrugged. 'Beats me. You're the one who should have the answer to that.'

He started off, and Tommy jumped up to follow.

'What do you mean?'

Yutaka shrugged again. 'You just look different is all. I don't know why.'

* * *

**063. Waiting**

Katsuharu crossed his arms impatiently. Teppei was late, as usual, and so he was left waiting under the burning sun for him.

Not that home was any better, with his siblings running around like they owned the place and his mother never noticing whenever he walked in or out of the place.

Tap, tap – his foot mirrored his impatience, even as sweat trickled down the back of his neck.

* * *

**064. Playboy**

Ten minutes later, Katsuharu was redder than he should have been, even with the weather. He decided Teppei had been surprisingly clever in his little prank; how could he not even realise where he was standing?

And what store owner put magazines for teens at the very worst out where _kids_ could see them anyway?

Grumbling, he continued along. Forget Teppei; it was his fault anyway.

In the next street, he spied somebody who could vastly improve his mood.

* * *

**065. Revenge**

Tommy was surprised, to say the least, when Katsuharu suddenly popped up in front of him. Actually, he was more than surprised; a mix of shocked, frightened and somehow with jelly courage would have been a more accurate description for him.

Yutaka was also surprised, but it was mostly because of the falsetto friendliness the newcomer projected.

'So, who's this?' the boy asked. 'Your big brother?'

'Y-yes.' Tommy didn't quite succeed in keeping the stutter out of his voice.

Yutaka said nothing.

'How about you hang out with me some?'

The underlining tone was unmistakable, but Tommy gulped a little and shook his head. 'No thanks.'

'No?' the other repeated. 'I thought you'd love to hang out with me?'

'I'm hanging out with my brother,' the younger Himi pointed out reasonably, a little calmer now that he had gotten the hard bit out of the way. Of course, his knees disagreed and he was sure both Katsuharu and Yutaka could see them shaking. Then, before his tongue decided to follow suit, he asked a question the other's words piqued. 'Why do you need to ask?'

Before the other could come up with a suitable answer, Yutaka's hand was firmly on his little brother's shoulder. 'If you force people to do things,' he explained. 'Whether by frightening them or by any other means, it has no value in the end.'

And then he was leading Tommy away, towards the direction of home and away from the boy which could only be a poor bully.


	14. 066-070

**A/N: **Enjoy.

* * *

**_The Curse of the Cat_**

* * *

**066. July**

'Urgh,' Zoe complained as she and Koichi walked to the library. 'I mean, today's not as bad as yesterday, but seriously. July's not for _months_.'

She blinked when Kouichi muttered something under his breath. She may not know him that well, but being in a class with somebody for a semester meant she knew a few things, and one of those was that such vehemence was unusual.

'What was that?' she asked, although she got the feeling she wasn't supposed to hear the other's words.

'What do you know about the Zodiac?' was the response.

'Uhh…' Zoe put a hand under her chin. 'I know the old bedtime story, and that when you're hugged by somebody of the opposite gender or when your body's under stress, you transform and that the curse somehow runs through the Sohma family lines…so I suppose you're related to them on your mother's side?' Before the other could affirm or deny, she added: 'Oh, and there's the God as well. Fuyuno, was it? About how none of you can disobey him because you're all tied together by the curse? And how everyone keeps saying the Cat can't be a part of the Zodiac, even though you're exactly the same as them –'

'I'm not.'

Zoe almost walked into the other.

'Because the Cat isn't named as one of the months?' she asked. 'That doesn't matter.'

'No, it's not that.' The other sounded perfectly miserable. 'The curse exists in a hierarchy of sorts. The God sits at the top; he or she bears the physical brunt of the curse and so their bodies are almost always weak. The remaining Zodiac members are somewhere in between, but the Cat bears the main psychological brunt as they're…' Koichi closed his eyes. 'Well, they're at the bottom of the pile I suppose. For the remaining Zodiac members, whenever they run into problems that come about because of their form, they can just look down at me and say: "I'm still better off". That's why the Cat's around, to be a scapegoat of sorts. Never a true part of the Zodiac.'

* * *

**067. Desire**

'That – ' Zoe's head was reeling in shock. 'That's totally unfair.'

Koichi shrugged. 'That's the way it is. And it's understandable I suppose.' He continued walking, and the other had no choice but to follow behind him. 'We're all human after all; we envy that which is above us and look down at that below us, almost grateful that we have yet to reach that state.'

'If that's the case, then what do you look down upon?'

The other stopped walking. 'Those denied freedom their entire life,' was the reply.

Zoe stopped as well.

'The truth is,' Koichi continued. 'That the curse of the Cat runs deeper than those of the other Zodiacs. I suppose in a sense you can call the Cat a bad luck charm, but that's putting it rather kindly.'

From her position, the blonde could see a light smile on her face.

'Truth be told though, we envy those below us as well. One of those "you can't miss what you never have" things.' He turned to the park they had been walking past. 'Like if I was already locked up, would it be any better than waiting for it to happen?'

Maybe Koichi had forgotten the company he had. Maybe he hadn't intended to say it aloud. But he had, and Zoe didn't know what she wanted to do more: demand a straightforward explanation, punch the pessimistic guy's lights out or give the sad guy a big hug.

She settled for both…or tried to. Unfortunately, the other sensed the attack and grabbed her wrist, stopping himself halfway through a counterattack to leave them both staring at each other awkwardly.

* * *

**068. Free**

'Sorry,' Zoe mumbled finally, unable to come up with any verbal reason or excuse. That one word however opened the dam to others, and she immediately continued: 'But you said it like…as if…do they really..?' The words were getting stuck again, but she forced them out. 'Do they really lock the Cats away? Like a prisoner?'

For a moment Koichi simply stared at her, and Zoe knew that whatever the other had been trying to tell her, he hadn't meant to let that little detail slip. He looked a little shocked; dark eyes wider than usual and really looking a little like Fluffy when she accidentally shone her torch onto its face…except Fluffy didn't have blue eyes.

Later, it would cross her mind that blue eyed cats were supposed to be deaf…according to one of those household myths.

'But…'

The other had remained silent to long to deny, and after her next word he simply turned his face away.

'You're someone who believes in equality,' he said quietly. 'You believe in a democratic world…but there's no such thing.' He fiddled with the beads he wore. 'In truth, the Cat's only crime was that it was too trusting towards the Rat and was therefore fooled, but if things like friendship and trust lead to this then isn't it better to simply never have that?'

Zoe took a small step forward. 'You don't believe that.'

'It's impossible,' the other admitted. 'But…'

'But that doesn't mean you should deny yourself the opportunity to make friends and enjoy the time you have right now…does it?' She didn't know why she was uncertain; she couldn't really say. In any other situation she would have been shouting that…like she had shouted at Koji. But there was something…

She jumped a little at the sound of the Juzu beads hitting the ground.

* * *

**069. Celebration**

'I'm proud of you,' Yutaka said, and Tommy could have skipped all the way home. His brother was proud of him, instead of scolding and lecturing him.

Yutaka had spotted the skip in his step. 'I scold you for your own good, you know.'

'Huh?' Tommy stopped walking and blinked at his elder brother.

Yutaka on the other hand kept walking. 'It's good to know you're growing up,' he commented.

'You're not making any sense!' The younger brother skipped a little to keep up.

Yutaka didn't explain; he simply changed the topic. 'Did you figure out what to get for Mum and Dad's anniversary.'

'Umm…' Truth be told, he had completely forgotten.

Yutaka rolled his eyes. 'Glad that hasn't changed,' he mumbled, before saying clearly: 'I'm planning on getting tickets. The old theatre's doing a new production. Want to go halves?' He paused. 'Unless you spent all your money on games again.'

'I did not!' Tommy exclaimed. 'For your information, we played with JP's deck of cards last time.'

It was good to know he didn't haunt the arcade by himself anymore.

* * *

**070. Stars**

He had died and wandered into some parallel dimension where Tommy had a spine. That was the only logical explanation. The elder brother had hung back, doing nothing even though the look he had initially given said he knew exactly what the other had been planning.

Still, Tommy had managed to spoil his fun all on his own.

Why did he need to ask? Seriously. Was the kid implying he'd want to hang out with him if he didn't? Ridiculous.

He scoffed out loud. He'd sooner find a shooting star in the sky.


	15. 071-075

**A/N:** Kind of short, but really important for the plot.

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

* * *

**071. Morgue**

Zoe had never seen death up close, but if she had to attribute a smell to it, it would probably be the one that unexpectedly hit her.

For some reason, she registered that before anything else. Then her brain took in the sight.

It was like something out of a nightmare , like she'd watched a scary movie at six and fallen asleep to see her parents morphing into zombie-like monsters.

And then it was all gone, and she was sitting alone on the asphalt, one hand over her mouth and eyes wildly staring at nothing.

* * *

**072. Space**

A kindly woman pulled Zoe off the middle of the street and took her inside, giving her a cup of tea and trying to coax some reaction from her. Zoe's mind in the meantime scrambled for…something. She couldn't understand; where had that monster come from? How had it popped out from her nightmare and become alive.

In the mirror, her eyes looked slightly blank, like that slim moment wherein she froze before bursting into tears and rushing into her mother's lap.

But her mother wasn't here. Just a kind stranger who couldn't understand anything at all.

* * *

**073. Whitewash**

She had the Juzu beads in her hand, she realised. She didn't remember picking them up, but they were there, feeling coarse and stiff in her hold. They looked like the ones sold at the Buddhist temple, but the feeling was far from the innocent smooth plastic.

She half wondered why someone had painted them white. It seemed exceptionally cruel.

It was clear evidence that charms and magic and curses weren't a myth. It was funny how she'd never quite accepted that, even after seeing two boys suddenly transform into animals.

The Curse. The Curse of the Zodiac. Of the Cat.

A nightmare she could forget if she wanted, but he could never awake from.

She blinked suddenly, her vision clearing after a blur, and found three salty drops on a closed fist.

* * *

**074. Alone**

She took too long to look for him; the street was filling up as people went about for lunch, but the faces were all unfamiliar. In a way though, she was relieved because it allowed her to push through the crowds and search more easily…and it should be her, alone, because he had shown his other form to her for a reason…

She still shuddered at that, but she forced herself to continue moving until she stopped at the three where she had found him after his first transformation. He had fled from her then too, she mused, looking at the empty branch the black cat had curled himself on. Hiding a cat amongst the trees. It had been instinct then.

And now…

It suddenly clicked, and she was running again. To the cemetery this time. A place that was always empty at this time of the day. And the only place one could hide the smell of death.

Now she knew what she was thinking. And what she needed to do. There was still a lot she didn't know: about the Sohmas, about the curse. But all that was still in the background…and where it should be.

Nightmares, curses, unfortunate circumstances…they didn't change people. It just pushed them apart. Made them lonely.

* * *

**075. Coma**

Her resolve wavered as she crossed past the graves. She wasn't a naturally superstitious person, but somehow the air felt far heavier than the only other time she had walked that path. But still she pressed on, and it didn't take her long to catch the scent she was looking for and inch towards it.

Like in her nightmares…

And then she was there, standing at the foot of a grave while the grotesque figure curled around the head.

If she had been uncertain, that ocean behind blue eyes did it for her.

'You can't push me away,' she said quietly. 'I won't let you…because I know as well as you do you don't really want to.'

It wasn't a nightmare she could awake from, but it was one she could make into a dream.


	16. 076-080

**A/N: ** And the plot is skewering off again. But 200 drabbles has quite a bit of room to play around with subplots. And with a certain someone sick again, the subplot brings about a nice balance.

And in case anyone forgot like me, Katsuharu has an older sister, a younger sister, a younger brother (6 years old) and two younger brothers that are twins and four years old. And a dog.

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

* * *

**076. Letters**

'Do I have to spell it by the letter?' Zoe asked, annoyed.

Takuya shrugged. 'Well, you have to admit that was unexpected. Although I think Koji's more to blame than you for –'

'For what?' Koji chose just that moment to arrive.

'For not warning us!' the brunet exclaimed. 'Or Zoe really.'

'About?' The Rat didn't look too pleased to be questioned without putting all the cards on the table.

Zoe looked a little uncomfortable. 'Koichi told me a little more about the curse,' she said quietly. 'Including how the hierarchy works and the part of the curse that only affects the Cat.'

Koji frowned a little at the look in her eyes. 'I told you,' he said plainly. 'I've never met the Cat of the Zodiac, so I only know they're looked down upon because they're not a true part of it.'

'Not…the other form?' Zoe asked, fiddling with her empty hands. She'd given the Juzu beads back – she'd had to, obviously – but she'd gotten used to their feeling around her wrist in that short period.

'A little,' Koji admitted. 'I was really young though, so the memory's hazy. It's more what Fuyuno's said. Eons of hatred accumulating in a single soul that knows only revenge –'

Zoe's gaze darkened unexpectedly. 'That's a lie,' she spat. 'He was lonely, and afraid, but he certainly didn't want revenge on anything.' She fiddled with her empty wrist again. 'I wish he wasn't sick again; I feel like I need to talk to him about something, but I can't think what.'

'Maybe you've got a crush on him?' JP suggested, breaking the ice.

'JP!' The blonde blushed a dark red.

* * *

**077. Phone Call**

Teppei hung up the phone and glared at it. Seriously, you try to ring a guy to tell them you'll be late, and you get an annoying sister in return. _Then_ you try to ring and apologize for being late – despite he had tried to warn ahead – and he gets another annoying sister in return.

He rolled his eyes. No doubt Katsuharu was causing trouble somewhere again. He abandoned the phone and grabbed his coat, relieved the weather had turned back to its usual early spring.

Too bad Katsuharu hadn't. But his family could be blamed for that as well.

Teppei's mother stopped him at the door. 'Are you going with that friend again?'

'Yes Mum.'

She frowned at him. 'He always gets you caught up…' She shook her head. 'There's no talking you out of it, is there?'

He shook his head.

'You could at least be more assertive,' she sighed. 'I don't know what you hope to accomplish following him into trouble.'

* * *

**078. Music**

Teppei found Katsuharu tapping his foot while listening to his walkman.

'Yo,' he said, waving a hand.

Katsuharu glared at him. 'Where were you yesterday?'

'Chores,' the other explained. 'And I tried to call you.' The grimace showed what had happened during those phone calls.

'My sisters,' Katsuharu said dryly. 'Were they flirting with you or blasting your eardrums off?'

'Both,' Teppei admitted. 'But I left a message.'

'Which obviously didn't go through.' He kicked at the ground again. 'Too busy in their own little worlds.'

* * *

**079. Silence**

They stood in silence after that, each of Teppei's suggestions getting shot down.

The younger brunet knew his mother meant well, but he really couldn't see her point from his position. Suggestions were going nowhere, and he almost wished something would attract the other's attention.

'Go home Teppei.'

'Huh?' The boy blinked. 'Why?'

'I don't really feel like hanging out.' Katsuharu stuffed his hands into his pockets and started walking off.

'Not even the arcade?'

'No.' And the elder brunet let his accomplice standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

* * *

**080. Cards**

Katsuharu happened on a pair of five year olds playing cards under the shade of a tree. They looked pretty cute too, happy and carefree and giggling madly every time they reached for the pile together.

From his view, they looked to be playing Snap.

And the sight was so giddy that it made him want to kick something. And so he did, scattering the pile about and sending the two kids scampering after them in tears and wailing for their mothers.

'Yeah,' he muttered bitterly, turning his back to them. 'Go crying to your mothers.'

Just like those bratty twins.


	17. 081-085

**A/N: ** JP gets the honour of having his birthday in February. I figured it was time he had a birthday party. Though not this "chapter".

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

**081. Emblem**

Koji glared at the rack of jackets. He'd never had to think too deeply about presents before, but that was because he didn't have special friends to give them to. But now it was JP's birthday, and Koji was having trouble finding something adequate.

A lot of trouble in fact.

When no jacket jumped out, he abandoned that rack and tried a different one. The jumpsuits all looked too similar to the ones he already had…and why was he thinking on the lines of clothes anyway?

He rolled his eyes at himself. Because Takuya and Shinya found some "awesome" magic tricks, and Tommy was getting some mechanical tool or gadget. He didn't know what Zoe was planning, but he was fairly sure it would not involve clothes. So clothes seemed like the best option: something personal and usable.

Although he was very tempted to just get a voucher with the luck he was having.

Still, he stuck a hand into the rack and flicked through a few hangers, pulling jumpsuits out at random before replacing them again. He almost gave up on that rack as well before he pulled out something that looked promising. Unlike his usual bright blue and yellow attire it had a more natural blend of a darker blue and gold with streaks of brown. The only thing bright was the emblem over the chest pocket – but when Koji looked at the size, it was far too small.

He tried to hold back a groan, but a passing salesgirl heard him anyway. At least some fruit came out of it, as she managed to find the exact same jumpsuit in the size he needed.

* * *

**082. Elephant**

Zoe looked at the little crystal elephant, then shook her head and moved on to the next. She shook her head again; the glittering rat was cute, but she was trying to find a present for JP, not Koji. Besides, she wasn't too sure how Koji would react if she gave him such an ornament, so it probably wasn't a safe present.

The next one was a crystal ladybug. She considered it, but the salesgirl put a new ornament up on display and she immediately gravitated her way towards it.

'That's a rare one,' the salesgirl commented. 'Those beetles aren't found in Japan.'

Zoe forked over the yen she needed; thankfully, "rare" in this case didn't mean expensive. After all, they weren't exactly collectables, but it would go nicely with JP's collection of insects (and not one of them alive or dead, thankfully).

She hoped they looked alright with the plastic ones though.

* * *

**083. Monopoly**

'Monopoly?' Koichi repeated.

He'd been surprised when he'd opened the door to find Zoe in the hallway with a large bag and two other boys, one he recognised by face but not by name and the other he knew not at all. And he'd been doubly surprised when, after letting them in, Zoe plunged into conversation as if nothing had ever happened. Then she'd pulled out the board and practically ordered them all to play…after the introductions and a small explanation to why her two remaining friends (including Koji thankfully as he had no idea what would happen if his mother came home)

He wound up picking the boot, and was surprised a third time when JP laughed at him.

'Sorry,' he chucked as three pairs of eyes turned to him. 'You just reminded me of Puss in Boots.'

'Puss in Boots?' Koichi mentally winced; he was sounding like a parrot.

'You know, the English cartoon.'

He shook his head.

'You don't?' JP almost shouted. 'How could you not have heard of him? You haven't seen Shrek?'

Another shake of the head.

'That's like the best cartoon.'

'I think that's an exaggeration,' Zoe muttered, but JP didn't hear.

'Come over some time and we'll have a movie marathon. Actually, come over on my birthday; the others are all coming over too. It'll take all night to watch them all…'

'JP,' Tommy interrupted, having rolled a double 6 and moved off the GO square in the meantime, only to land on a square already housing a green piece. 'How much rent?'

* * *

**84. Reality**

JP and Tommy left ahead, but Zoe hung around for a bit.

'I hope you don't think I'm being too…' She fished for a word. 'Pushy, but…' She shook her head and started again. 'You needed company, and Tommy and I needed to keep JP occupied, and Tommy wanted to see you again as well…but I really should have called ahead and…aargh, my thoughts are getting all scrambled.'

Koichi laughed a little at that as she tried to pet down the hair she had messed up.

'Hey, I'll let you know we just got stuck with each other and we didn't have the problem of not seeing each other 24/7 until we were inseparable!' she exclaimed. Seeing the look of confusion, she further explained: 'It was a stupid dare, and we were the only ones idiot enough to fall for it and stubborn enough to see it through. You didn't hear about it at school? I thought everyone knew. The girls in my class talked about it more than last week's reality show.'

Koichi shook his head. 'I was probably sick then.'

'You miss out on quite a bit, don't you?' She sighed through her nose. 'Would you come to JP's birthday? We're sleeping over at his house…and we probably will wind up watching all the Shrek movies. He's been threatening to since we met him.'

'It wouldn't feel right,' the other disagreed. 'I don't know you all that well.'

'You're not going to know us any better by not trying,' Zoe pointed out. 'And I know it's hard, but if you don't live your life now, you'll always regret it…' Her voice trailed off.

'Zoe…'

'Oh, am I interrupting something?' Tomoko's voice suddenly said.

Both teens jumped at the unexpected entrance.

* * *

**085. Serenity**

'Really,' Tomoko laughed in amusement at the two startled teens. 'You two look like a pair of mischievous chicks…or lovebirds.'

They both blushed and stuttered something, and she had to keep herself from laughing harder. But it really was a heart-warming sight, watching her son act like any other boy his age for once and with someone willing to look past his walls and try to dig out the real Koichi underneath. It was especially heart-warming when they snapped back to look at each other, caught between denying and awkwardly trying to work out exactly what they felt and were trying to say.

Sadly, they sorted themselves out a little too soon.

'You'll come, won't you?' Zoe asked.

'Umm…sure.'

Once Zoe had left, Tomoko turned to grilled her son. 'Where exactly are you two going?'

'Nowhere!' the boy exclaimed, waving his arms. 'A friend of hers is having a sleepover on his birthday and he…well, he sort of invited me I guess…'

'And Zoe insisted you take up the invitation?' Tomoko shook her head lightly. 'Not many people bother with written invitations for anything short of a wedding nowadays. You should go.'

A pause. 'I already agreed.'

'I know, but children normally ask their parents before accepting invitations.'

Koichi went a little red and mumbled something again. Tomoko chucked and ruffled his hair. 'Don't forget to get a nice present.'


	18. 086-090

**A/N: **Whoops, I had forgotten where I was up to. :)

And to the lovely Guest reviewer, first of all thank you so much for your reviews. Tangled Web is actually Takumi (spoilers but I doubt it matters after not updating in so long - though it's next on my to do list after Achilles' Heel's last two chapters) but this is actually light Koizumi (well established by this stage). :)

* * *

_**The Curse of the Cat**_

* * *

**086. Bone**

Shopping for presents wasn't something Koichi often did, and when he was looking for one it was normally for a woman: his mother or, before her death, his grandmother. So trying to find a present for someone he barely knew, was a year older and male, was proving to be quite a challenge. Especially since anything that looked remotely promising wound up being either too cheap and therefore inadequate or too expensive.

He wanted to get a book, but had no idea what sort of books the other would like, and the downtown bookstore seemed to have run out of everything save their horror collection. He debated the magic tricks isle, but they didn't seem like adequate presents, and anything mechanical-related was either over his head or too expensive for his allowance. And it wasn't like he knew what size the other wore to give him clothes…and that exhausted what he had learnt about the other boy in that long game of monopoly.

His eyes fell on the collection of IQ puzzles in a small shop tucked away in a corner of town. Somehow, he got the feeling the older boy would enjoy them…although he felt he was being a little judgemental presuming that from one meeting. Certainly nothing Zoe had ever said (not that he knew her for all that long either) implied JP would like IQ puzzles.

He selected one that looked at first sight like a cube with multiple cubes within it. It was like the one he had – his favourite that his grandmother had gotten him at four – but unique in its own way.

Now that he thought about it, he didn't think he'd ever seen a duplicate of his puzzle either.

He counted out the yen in his pocket, and found he had just enough.

* * *

**087. Chalk Dust**

Takuya coughed as he accidentally dropped the duster and got chalk dust in his mouth.

'Yuck,' he spat. 'Why did we get stuck with cleaning the blackboards?'

'Be glad we're not scraping gum off the desks,' Koji shot back, scrubbing at the board with a soapy sponge. 'Remind me again why I'm here with you?'

'How about you remind me why I'm here first?' the other shot back.

'You're proud of the fact that you can't keep track of your detentions?' Koji asked, incredulously. 'What in the world do your parents say?'

'Dad says to stand up for what I believe in,' Takuya shrugged. 'Mum would rather I don't get into so much trouble. If it's a fight with someone, she'll ground me, hoping I won't get into another fights in the near future and set a bad example for Shinya…but I think it's honestly too late for that.' He laughed sheepishly. 'He said though that Tommy stopped him from beating some bully up.' A chuckle escaped as he shook his head. 'How about your father though? What has he said about the sudden increase in detentions?'

'Nothing, because I haven't told him yet.'

* * *

**088. Manuscript **

Koji realised that afternoon that he really should inform his father before his next report card was issued…or the school decided he'd had one too many detentions and decided to call home.

When that thought entered his mind though, he realised how little he really communicated with his father. And, at that moment, he decided to try and change that. Maybe it was because of the friends he had made. Four wonderful friends. And how the Cat was nothing like he'd imagined – and he hadn't, funnily enough, needed Zoe or Tommy to tell him that. The kid looked more like an adorable little kitten than the monster the Sohma family had labelled him as. In all honesty, Koji had felt sorry for him at first glance, as sickly as he was…and with the fate that awaited him.

He forgot soon enough though, with JP teasing the pre-emptive couple…for both of them claimed not to have crushes on each other, but apparently both mothers agreed otherwise. And all the mad scrambling with them playing monopoly _again_, this time with eight players at Tommy's place. He wasn't sure why they were playing monopoly so often – except Takuya claimed to be broke as he wasn't getting an allowance till the month was over, and JP had spent his on some new mechanical gadget and nobody even thought to as Koichi whether he wanted to go after having not watch a single western film or cartoon.

But all that just led up to the fact that he and his father hadn't talked in quite a while, and it was a talk long overdue. Sadly though, he was getting the feeling that he needed a script…and preferably a burn-proof recipe too, as he managed to burn his first recent attempt at cooking dinner before the housemaid cleaned up his mess.

Now that he thought about it, she cleaned a lot of his messes.

* * *

**089. Ink**

Kousei pocketed his pen long enough to unlock the door, and then it was back in his hand, scrawling down the details being relayed to him by the phone tucked between his shoulder and ear. His eyes were focused on the paper as well, repeating the information to make sure he had it down correctly; it was alright though, as he knew the house like the back of his hand and Koji, if he was home, would be either on the couch in the living room or in his bedroom.

So sure was he of that that he did not expect to walk into his son standing in the entrance hall.

* * *

**090. Perfection**

Kousei blinked. Koji returned that with a blink of his own. The voice on the phone thankfully got interrupted on his own end, mumbling he would call back soon to continue their one-sided conversation.

Kousei was more than happy to agree, as the same words had almost escaped from his own mouth.

'Is something the matter?' he asked immediately, phone going back into his pocket…along with scraps of paper he would need to sort at some point. 'You're not sick or anything, are you?'

The last time Koji had gotten sick – which was quite a few years ago – had been a mini-apocalypse.

'No.' Koji shuffled his feet. 'I just…I got detention.'

Kousei stared at him. 'Detention?'

'And…umm…I made some friends too.'

His father blinked. 'I assume this friends of yours had something to do with your detention?'

'Detention_s_ actually,' Koji admitted. 'And I tried to make dinner but I burnt it and Satomi had to help clean up, and I won't be home Sunday because JP's having a sleepover –'

'I believe you're suppose to ask your parent before you agree to sleepovers.' Kousei shook his head. 'But slow down; I'm having trouble following the rest of what you've said.'

Mainly because Koji didn't get into trouble – except with him – and Koji didn't have friends last time he checked. Which was admittedly a while ago, what with a frosty wall and work piling up between them.


	19. 091-095

**A/N: ** Finally back to working on this. It's been months…though you probably wouldn't be able to tell from my uploading.

* * *

**_The Curse of the Cat_**

* * *

**091. Ring**

'So let me get this straight,' Kousei said finally. 'You've finally admitted that Takuya Kanbara, Zoe Orimoto, JP Shibayama and Tommy Himi are your friends plus made an additional friend somewhere along the line, you've loosened up enough around them to earn yourself a detention which you didn't see fit to inform me of until now, you agreed to a sleepover without informing me, and you've finally accepted Satomi into the family?'

When it was put like that, it sounded like a really horrible list, but it was the truth and so Koji had no choice but to shamefully admit it.

Kousei nodded in approval. 'Good; the first part of being an adult is admitting your mistakes and fixing them.'

His son stared at him; he had been expecting, from the previous tone, a reprimand at the very least.

'So you're getting along fine with your friends now?'

'Fine enough,' Koji said, a little cautiously.

'Just follow your heart,' his father advised. 'You've got a good one after all. No amount of me telling you what to do got you to do something.'

Koji was rather relieved when his father's cell phone rang; he wasn't used to getting into such deep conversations with his father. Kousei on the other hand wasn't as pleased.

* * *

**092. Drive**

Katsuharu normally didn't like to drive – he would up playing chaperone for his siblings more often than not, but there were times he just had to get out of the district and the car was the only way to go.

After all, no-one was crazy enough to try and avoid people on the metropolitan, as crowded as it always was. And at that moment, he didn't feel like looking at even Teppei. Teppei who always followed him into trouble without question. Teppei who always said what he was doing was wrong, and then turned around and did it with him. Teppei, who let him crash for the night when he didn't want to go home. Teppei, who was nothing more than a sidekick.

But he didn't want to crash for the night this time. Hell, he didn't even know what he wanted. And it was all Tommy's fault, for what he said.

He slammed a fist into the steering wheel. The horn blared, but there was no-one for miles to hear it, save the birds to squawked and ran.

'Yeah,' he muttered sourly. 'You'd better run.'

But he didn't want the birds there. He didn't want them running. It wasn't quiet enough. It wasn't _alone_ enough. They were still judging him. Being frightened of him.

He send the rest of the birds flying with skidding tires as he tore out onto the highway again, over the speed limit but not even caring.

* * *

**093. Missing**

It wasn't like Katsuharu to shake off his company, so the first thing Teppei did after arriving back home was ring his place.

One of the twins answered the phone. And he was unable to get someone more coherent on the phone because of the learning disability they shared. So he was forced to surrender, calling again after finishing his homework this time to get the elder sister, who was marginally better, provided she didn't brush him off like she usually did.

She disappeared for a moment, before returning on the line. 'He took the car,' she said perplexed. 'He never takes the car.'

'He took the car,' Teppei repeated.

'What's he thinking,' the older girl muttered. 'If he's not back by the time Mum starts work, he's dead.'

Teppei frowned at that; Katsuharu had never mentioned his mother started work in the evening. 'Where does your Mum work?' he ventured to ask.

The girl's tone suddenly went defensive. 'What's it matter to you?'

'I'm Katsuharu's friend,' the brunet snapped back. 'I think I deserve to know what's going on with his home life, especially since all I get is half-answers.'

She was silent.

'I remember you,' she said finally. 'You're at our place sometimes.'

'Ye – yeah.'

* * *

**094. Full Moon**

It would be a full moon that night, and Koichi couldn't help but sneeze as he weeded the garden. Often, he would wait for his mother, but she had been frequently putting in extra hours at her work in the absence of one of the senior staff. Since it looked as though she might get a promotion soon, no-one was complaining.

Still, the full moon always made him ansty, and gardening was always a comfort. It was probably the cat part of him, but he didn't mind the restlessness so much if he could enjoy the smell of watered soil and dancing plants and dry grass…even if they did bring on the occasional sneeze. It was a natural, peaceful smell, crafting an environment like.

It smelt of a world without judgement, without chains. With freedom.

He scraped at the ones ensnaring a rose bush, managing to scratch a finger while pulling the weed away. It went to show, that even in nature, where there were no humans to make labels and confines, things weren't as free as they appeared. And if he was a true cat, wild as the grass he now coaxed away from the other plants, he would still be slave to his hunger, his thirst, and his need for companionship.

His eyes and heart darkened as they remembered that time all too well…

* * *

**095. New Direction**

Mrs Shibayama laughed at the shopping list her son handed to her. 'You're asking me to get enough food to feed an army. Remind me how many friends you're inviting again.'

'Five,' her son announced proudly. 'Just very close friends this year.'

She knew the significance; often, their house was filled on JP's birthday, but when looking at the presents in the aftermath, she couldn't help but find them very shallow. A lot she gave away to charity or to various distant nieces and nephews; JP would look momentarily sad before waving her of on her errand.

But this year was promising to be different. For one, he wouldn't stop talking about these new friends of his. So much so in fact that she never noted the transition from one friend to three to four and then five. They just happened. And he seemed genuinely happy with them, sacrificing other things to go "hang out with them" as he called it. He'd never do that before, because no-one would do the same fro him.

And while she was looking forward to meeting these new friends, she highly doubted she needed _that_ much food to celebrate the new direction of her son's social life.

'Do you think eight people can eat this much?' She showed him the list, and JP considered, running over it again.

'I guess not,' he said, sheepishly rubbing a mat into the back of his hair. 'I guess I was just remembering the other years.'

'I'll tell you what.' His mother scrunched the list up and threw it away. 'How about you let me make a homemade dinner for your friends. Or don't you think they're worth that?'

'They're definitely worth that,' JP empathically replied. 'Your meatloaf?'

She laughed again. 'They must be very special if they're worth my meatloaf. But if you insist.'


End file.
